


Prime Effect 4

by ApolloXL5



Series: Prime Effect [5]
Category: Mass Effect, Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Romance, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-01-29
Packaged: 2018-03-05 09:48:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 43
Words: 336,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3115550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApolloXL5/pseuds/ApolloXL5
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twenty five years after the Reaper War, the Interstellar Federation continues to flourish and grow. But as a young soldier tries to find his own path in life, continuing to ignore the destiny that is meant for him. Meanwhile an Adversary that is both new and familiar is awakened, one that wants nothing more than to rule an unsuspecting galaxy by any and all means necessary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

Twenty five years earlier...

The planet Earth was known as one of the most beautiful worlds in the galaxy, with it's massive blue oceans and green, brown and white colored land masses, made it a visual delight for those who looked upon it. But with the arrival of the Reapers, sentient machines created by the Chaos Bringer known to many as 'Unicron'. The Earth came to looked to suffer the same fate as millions of worlds has before it. Gone was the colourful beauty that nature had given it, replacing it with the look of a world that had been burnt to a crisp. The Reapers had begun harvesting the planet's main Indigenous life form, a species called 'humanity', who for the majority of their short existence on the planet had believed that they were alone in the universe. But that belief was not true and as of this very moment, humanity fought alongside a race of autonomous living synthetic brings called 'Cybertronians'. This race who originally arrived on Earth and brought their civil war (which also cost them their own world) with them, was now living peacefully with Humanity. And now with the Reapers threatening to destroy everything that they held dear, both races along with the combined galactic community were fighting this last desperate battle to hold the line against the night.

But it was a fight that they were losing, the galaxy has put all of its efforts into a Lithone device that was supposed to destroy their adversaries, but it instead became their doom. It was really a means to return Unicron back to the physical realm and with their creator among them again, the Reapers moved forward with their plan to destroy all organic life in the galaxy. But then stepped forward one man, his name was Jack Darby. But he was known amongst many as Jackson Prime, the first Human Prime. He activated the matrix of leadership and used it to destroy the Chaos Bringer, but at a terrible cost.

For it also ended the life of Primus, the Aeon who created the Cybertronians and the line of Primes. For if Unicron was to be no more, then Primus had to fade away as well. So as the Chaos Bringer exploded and the wave of energy expanded across the whole galaxy and wiping the Reapers from existence. Unknown to those who survived that day to see a future that they could not believe that they would witness, a scream echoed from the destruction of the two Aeons. A scream that they could not hear, but as it echoed across the universe like a shout through a mountainous region of land.

It would eventually be heard by a powerful force, a force that would see it as an act of defiance by the galaxy in question and in turn set their sights to the Milky Way. And so they begin their journey through the endless dark space that separates the galaxies from each other, to find out what happened to their deceased brethren. Because death is not a idea known to them, and so heaven help those responsible.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Present day...

In the vast void that was deep space, there was suddenly a flash of white light as a star-ship jumped out of hyperspace. It had the markings and color scheme of the Interstellar Federation and the Autobots on it's hull (white, blue and red), it's name in black, bold lettering 'Icarus' could be could also be clearly seen.

Walking down one of the ship's dimly lit corridors was a Caucasian Cybertronian with brown hair and wearing purple and silver uniform that also had green outlines in its joints, he walked up to a door at the far end of said corridor and pressed the control panel to his right. The door opened and he walked onto the bridge of the ship, which had a circular design to it. The Commander's chair situated in the centre of the room with all main stations surrounding it, giving the commanding officer full view of his bridge crew. All stations were manned by a mixed crew of Cybetronian, human, Krogan and Asari, while sitting in the Commander's chair was a Turian who turned in his chair to look away from the Bridge canopy and towards the man who had just entered.

"Shockblast, I thought you would like to know that we are approaching the last set of coordinates" the Turian said as the bot stopped beside him.

"Commander Villius, we have saved the best one till last right."

"I certainly hope so, after spending five years visiting and unearthing ancient Cybertronian settlements on numerous worlds across the galaxy, this last one should be jackpot... So the human saying goes."

The Turian then looked at a holo-image that appeared over his right-side armrest, it showed the Icarus and it's distance to the planet.

"I have to say that I am looking forward to your briefing, considering the planet we are about to enter the orbit of."

"Thank you Commander Vallius, all I require now is Dr T'Soni's assistance." Shockblast replied as he looked over to the Asari sitting behind the Turian at the science station, she looked over to him having heard her name spoken aloud and saw him smile back to her.

"Are you ready Liara?"

The blue woman looked up and smiled at the bot.

"Yes Shockblast." she replied, mirroring his smile before looking at the Turian Commander.

"Commander Vallius, I have finished recalibrating the ship's sensor grid and also completed the compiling of our database." she replied before standing up and joining the bot's side.

"Thank you Dr T'Soni, we are certainly lucky to have you on this expedition." Vallius said back as she walked over to Shockblast.

"She's the best." the bot said with an affectionate tone, making the Asari almost blush in return.

"We are approaching the planet sir." a young man at the helm stated, gaining their attention of which Liara was thankful. The pilot was Caucasian and had blonde hair and was wearing a yellow and purple uniform that like Shockblast, had green outlines at it's joints.

"Very good Six-shot, take us into orbit." Vallius replied as he and everyone on the bridge could see their destination on the other side of the glass.

"Cybertron!" Liara exclaimed with excitement in her voice.

"Yes, our former home-world." Shockblast replied as the Icarus moved into high orbit above the dead planet, from their vantage point, they could clearly see the detail of it's heavily damaged surface. Results of the eons long civil war that had caused the Cybertronian exodus long ago.

"We are in orbit Commander." Six-shot stated.

"Good. Shockblast, have your team ready in the briefing room." The Turian Commander replied, earning a nod from the Shockblast as he and the Asari walked over to he elevator and entered once it's doors had opened.

A short time later and the two were in the briefing room with their team mates, waiting for the Commander to make an appearance.

"Liara?" Shockblast asked as he looked down at a data pad in his hands.

"Yes." she replied with a smile, earning a similar expression from the bot, though a shy one.

"you know, I meant what I said to the Commander earlier."

The Asari turned to the bot and wrapped her arms around his neck affectionately.

"I know you did, and if I hadn't worked with you for the last five years then I wouldn't feel the same way about you." she said before closing the distance between them, their lips meeting and moving in synch as they kissed for a long moment. They then parted as they heard the door open and turned to see the Commander enter the room along with Six-Shot and several others who all sat down on the chairs that were grouped together in front of the two.

"Well we are all here, are you two ready?" Vallius said before Shockblast and Liara suddenly began moving like they had a purpose, which made Six-shot shake his head and sigh in response as he looked at the ground.

"Yes." Shockblast replied before activating his holo-tool, thus making the room go dark. The only illumination coming from a holo-globe that was hovering just behind Liara and himself.

"So... here we are, after five years of sifting through the mud on numerous worlds, finding evidence of previous Cybertronian settlements that pre-date the Great War and other discoveries that we did not know. We have finally arrived at the final destination of our journey before heading back to civilization."

As Shockblast spoke, Liara with her holo-tool changed the globe to a model of Cybertron that rose up above them, so that those sitting at the back could see.

"Cybertron." he said, before noticing a hand rise up from the group watching them.

"Yes?" the bot replied as the Salarian brought his hand back down to his lap.

"Thank you, but I find myself confused. Have there not been many expeditions to Cybertron over the last twenty-five years, not to mention the years before the Reaper war. What are we expecting to find that has not been found already?"

Shockblast smiled and brought up another hologram next to the Cybertron, it showed lines of Cybertronian writings that glowed in orange.

"The writing that you see before you is that of ancient Cybertronian, and each line was found on a tablet on each of these worlds." Shockblast added as Liara typed on the interface of her holo-tool, bringing up another hologram. This time of the galaxy which had several red dots scattered over it, gaining a knowing look from Six-shot.

"Those are worlds that we have already visited in the last few years, finding those colony ruins." he said, earning a smile and a nod from the bot standing in front of him.

"That is correct, now it should be noted that while the ruins we found on these worlds does in fact date back to the early years of the Golden Age. The tablets that these codes were inscribed, on are actually only a few million years old..."

The majority of the audience just stared at him blankly which annoyed Shockblast, but he managed to hold it all inside as he took a breath.

"...which means these codes were used during the Great War between the Autobots and Decepticons."

Suddenly some members started to show sins that hey were catching on as Six-shot decided to speak again.

"So what are these codes then?"

Shockblast could not hide the satisfaction he felt at the younger bot's questions, he was really the only member of the audience who was showing a natural interest, though Commander Vallius who would just watch and listen, keeping all his questions to himself until the end of the briefing. But Six-shot always did have a keen eye for history, just like himself...his older brother.

"Well Six-shot, I...and it was no small task due to the complexities of the dead language...managed to decipher the codes." Shockblast replied as Liara worked her holo-tool again and made the codes separate from their formation, and hover above the audience.

"Now each code on its own read like gibberish, they made no sense. But when I put all the codes together..." He said as the codes hovering over the audience began to join and mix with each other until it made on singular code and an arrow appeared at it's end and pointed to a location on Cybertron.

"...they reveal a set of coordinates that are on the planet we are orbiting right now."

The bot then smiled as he saw that he had the attention of the audience now.

"Do you know which faction the codes belong to?" another crew member asked.

"No, but whether Autobot or Decepticon. The fact that the coordinates were encrypted using ancient Cybertronian, shows that whatever is at this location is big and I believe that it is something more than worth a look into." Shockblast replied as he noticed a smile appear on the Commander's face.

"Okay Shockblast, you have a go. Everyone get ready, we will be landing the ship in exactly sixty minutes time. Let's go find out what's down there."

With that the audience began leaving the room, going to their respective stations leaving Shockblast, Liara and Six-shot behind.

"That went better than I thought it would." the Asari said as Shockblast placed his hand on her shoulder affectionately.

"we are going to make history with this discovery I just know it."

"Well don't go planning any speeches for future awards, we may still find nothing down there." Liara replied as she placed her hand on his in return.

"No, this is it. I can feel it in my bones, we are about to hit gold." the bot said back enthusiastically.

"Don't you mean platinum?" Six-shot corrected, earning a smile from Shockblast.

"Well I was very impressed with your questions during the briefing little brother, I think you may have chosen the wrong career."

"Nah, I am a pilot Shockblast. I find history interesting but I will leave that to you." the younger bot replied, earning a brotherly slap on the back from the older brother before he and Liara began to head for the exit.

"See you on the bridge Six-shot, I know you are dying to show off your skills with the landing."

"Yeah, yeah. You should know I can make this ship do anything with my skill. The landing will be so smooth, it will be like a leaf kissing the surface of a pond." Six-shot replied as he followed them out.

The ship broke orbit as it turned on its side so that the planet was below it's underside, as it prepared for its descent to the dead planet below it. On the bridge, Vallius rotated his chair three hundred and sixty degrees as he looked around at his crew. Six-shot was at the helm performing his per-landing prep, Liara was at the science station and Shockblast was sitting at her side as everyone else worked frantically around them. The Commander activated the intercom.

"This is Commander Vallius to all personnel, brace yourselves for entry." his voice boomed around the ship as all that heard it stopped what the were doing and strapped themselves, the Turian then looked at his pilot.

"Alright Six-shot, take us down."

The pilot nodded before tapping the glowing blue holo-interface in front of him.

"Aye aye sir."

The Icarus's engines then fired as it started to descend down to Cybertron. As the ship entered the atmosphere, the turbulence was strong as they passed through an electric storm on the way down. They could hear the energy strikes through the hull and the inertial dampeners could not stop the vibrations from being felt as it made anything that was not fastened down shake and move around.

"I think we are passing through the worst of it." Six-shot stated as the cloud cover dissipated, revealing the battered, and war torn surface below. It was a mixture of grey and bronze colors with the derelict buildings stood inside what looked like a desert.

Commander that is the 'Sea of Rust, and the coordinates are located just north west of our current position'." Liara stated as she looked at the holo-interface of the science station, showing a three dimensional representation of the area she spoke of.

"Very good Doctor T'Soni, Sixshot take us to the coordinates." Vallius replied. The pilot merely nodded in return as he made the Icarus turn slightly to the left and fly the ship over to what looked like a desert where a lone mountain could be seen.

"There, right there!" Shockblast said as he pointed at the image.

"The sensors show that it is not a natural formation." he added as he looked to Liara for confirmation.

"He is right, there is another structure buried underneath. Looks like it has slowly been covered by the rust storms over the eons. Perfect place to hide something." she said with a smile, feeding Shockblast's enthusiasm more.

"Very well, Six-shot land us next to it." Vallius said while keeping his attention on the glass canopy and the mountain as the Icarus got closer to it.

"Switching to thrusters to slow us and gently bring us down, also deploying landing struts. Touchdown in ten seconds." Six-shot said. The Icarus's struts appeared from inside the ship locked into place as it neared the ground, the strength of the thrusters kicking up a dust cloud around the vessel as it landed on to the Cybertronian surface, sending a shudder through the ship from the contact.

"The Icarus has landed, shutting down the engines and deactivating all navigational systems." the pilot stated as the Commander smiled at everyone.

"Nice flying Six-shot." he said as the pilot's older brother undid his seat's straps and got up.

"Okay, time to get down there and make history." he said enthusiastically as he looked out of the canopy down at the base of the mountain.

"Easy there Shockblast..."Liara said while looking at the holo-interface in front of her.

"Sensors show a rust storm heading this way, it's about five hours away from us."

The bot turned to her, his excitement dimming ever so slightly.

"That's why we should go now, get a head start." he continued to say as he looked over to the Turian Commander, hoping to get the go ahead.

"Very well, looks like you will need that time just to drill through the exterior anyway." Vallius replied with a nod as he brought up the scan of the mountain from the science station, it's three-dimensional model showing the thickness of the rust covering the building.

"Thank you Commander." Shockblast said back before looking at Liara, the enthusiasm back on his face.

"Right, let's go."

The bot and Asari then got up and left the bridge as Six-shot watched, this did not go unnoticed by Vallius who saw the look on the younger bot's face.

"You want to go with your brother don't you Six-shot?"

The pilot's attention snapped back to his Commander from the door as he heard his name spoken.

"Yes sir." he replied somewhat nervously, earning a smile from the Turian.

"Go on then, the Icarus wont be needing it's pilot while we are planet-side anyway."

The bot smiled at him and got up.

"Thank you sir." he replied before heading out of the bridge, through the same door as his brother earlier. Vallius then turned his attention to the rest of his bridge crew.

"Alright then, systems check. I want a report on each section by zero eight hundred hours." he said, earning a groan from some crew members around him.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Liara looked down at the interface on her holo-tool as she stood outside in her silvery white/blue armour(she was wearing a breather helmet...they all were outside) as Shockblast and his brother (who were wearing armour with the same colour schemes as their uniforms) were helping the dig team operate the large laser drill that was situated on top of the Icarus's MAKO. The laser was firing a bright red and white hot energy beam at the base of the mountain that was towering over them, obliterating the rust that was blocking their way. They had been at this for nearly five hours as the Asari's com-link activated.

"Dr T'Soni, how fares the drilling?" the voice of Commander Vallius said from his end of the call. Liara looked down at the read out of her holo-tool.

"We are ninety five percent through Commander."

"Well that storm is nearly upon us, you may want to consider returning to the Icarus and finishing it tomorrow. This storm will be going on all night." Vallius replied, Liara then looked over to the north and saw a massive storm cloud approaching, it was so large it seemed to reach up into the heavens.

"I think you are corr..." she started to say, only for Shockblast to interrupt over the link.

"No, I will not let a storm stop us now. We can take cover from it via the building that is encased in this mountain of rust." the bot replied with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Are you sure Shockblast? I don't want anyone taking any unnecessary risks." Vallius replied.

"Yes, and everyone on my team agrees with me."

"Doctor T'Soni, Does that include you?" the Turian asked. The Asari suddenly felt conflicted by the Commander's question, true she did see the logic in Vallius's words. But she also understood Shockblast's eagerness to find out what was inside the mountain, plus the thought of waiting several hours to a day for the storm to pass did not sit well with her either. She had trusted Shockblast for the last five years, and she did not plan to stop now.

"I agree with Shockblast." she replied, knowing full well the grin that would be on the bot's face right now.

"Very well, just be careful in there. Due to the strength of the storm, communications will be unavailable until after it has dissipated."

"Understood." Shockblast replied before ending the link.

It took a further thirty minutes for the laser drill to finish and by then the storm was pretty much all over the area, gale force winds blowing the sand like rust up into the air, making visibility almost zero. But the dig team managed to get into the tunnel that they had created through the heavy layer of rust that had slowly covered whatever structure had stood there over the eons. Shockblast and Liara led the way as they shone their torches into the darkness ahead of them, hoping to find some clue as to what they would find. After a short time walking through the tunnel, the gale force winds of the storm now just a faint echo behind them. The group came up to what looked like a metallic wall.

"Looks like there is something written on it." Six-shot observed as His brother reached out and wiped a gloved hand over one of the symbols.

"It's ancient Cybertronian." he said before activating his holo-tool.

"Can you translate it? Liara asked.

"Give me a few minutes to get my bearings with this." the bot replied as both the Asari and Six-shot gave each other a knowing look before looking back at the rest of the team, who had started to talk amongst themselves. After fifteen minutes of hearing conversations such as...

"what do you think we will find down here?"

"Perhaps a first edition of Sargent Kup's war stories."

"By the Allspark, I hope not!"

... Liara rolled her eyes and turned back to Shockblast who was still trying to figure out the wall in front of them.

"Figured it out yet?" Six-shot asked before the she could say the same question.

"I don't get it! I have gone through every translation matrix I have and the symbols on the wall still make no sense." the older brother replied with a frustrated tone. The three of them looked at wall and the way that the symbols were arranged in a circular pattern.

"That looks familiar..." Liara said before bringing up the codes via her holo-tool.

"..., the symbols on the wall are identical to the first symbol on each line of code." she added as Six-shot decided to pint something out.

"Yeah and the number of symbols on the wall match the lines of code we have."

Shockblast looked up at the wall with a confused expression that soon changed to one of embarrassment.

"How did I not notice that?" he said.

"Don't worry about it, let's just see if we can now open this door." his younger brother said as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Okay, let's see what is in this door shall we." Shockblast replied as he began a scan with his holo-tool.

"I am detecting a series of small CPUs inside the door, each one behind one of those symbols, there is also a faint signal being emitted from each CPU. So if we..." he said as he brought up the holograms of the codes and lined them up with each corresponding symbol on the wall.

"...send the codes along the same signals, then..." he added as the images then passed into the wall, gaining a ping from his holo-tool.

".. Open sesame." he smiled as the gears and cogs could be heard turning from behind the wall as it began to open up, releasing a small dust cloud from the other side.

"Well done." a Salarian team mate said as the rest of them had stopped talking and watched as the three lead members figured out how to open it.

"Okay let's see what's in there." Shockblast said as he done his torch into the opening and began walking through the door, followed closely by Liara and Six-shot and then the rest of the team.

It did not take long before the group entered a massive room, one that would have been of normal height for a Cybertronian in their original body. Six-shot activated a drone with his holo-tool, it's bright glow illuminating the room so everyone could see what was around them. It was filled with consoles and heavy equipment and also had three doorways that led elsewhere in the complex. Shockblast looked around in utter glee before turning to his team.

"Alright, we are going to split up in to teams so that we can explore this place some more. Also activate your search drones if you find any more rooms, so that we can make a map of this place."

So the bot then split everyone into four teams of three (being sure to have both Liara and Six-shot with him) and had one team stay behind and examine the room they now in, while having the rest of teams (including his own) check out where the three door ways led. Once they had split up and headed down their respective corridor, Shockblast's team entered another large room, but this one only had one massive computer at one end, and a large containment tank in it's center. There was also a large hole in one of the walls that looked like it connected to a mine tunnel.

"Six-shot, activate a search drone to explore the area behind that hole." the older brother said. His young brother nodded and activated his holo-tool, making an orange bill-orb appear in front of him before it flew off through the opening and into the tunnel beyond it.

"Okay, the drone is mapping the tunnel." he said as the interface of his holo-tool showed the ever expanding map of the complex grow some more with the drone relaying more data. Shockblast nodded back before joining Liara at the computer.

"I am detecting an Energon source nearby, but it's readings are not exactly the same as what we know Energon to be like." the Asari said as Shockblast looked at her interface.

"I thought Energon was completely depleted throughout the galaxy over , which was the reason why our race had to switch to pretender bodies to begin with." Six-shot said as His older brother noticed something about the readings.

"That's right, but these readings do not match with that. It is picking up Synthetic Energon, a lot of it."

Liara gave both bots a puzzled look.

"What is Synthetic ener...?"

"Just call it Synthergon for short." Six-shot interrupted, earning an Annoyed look from his brother, before he turned his attention back to Liara.

"..Synthergon is exactly what it sounds like, a Cybertronian-made alternative to the real energy source. The formula for it was created by the ancients and then lost over time, only for Team Prime to rediscover it during the twilight years of the great war."

"So why don't we see this 'Synthergon' around today?" Liara asked, her undivided attention squarely on Shockblast.

"Because the formula they found was incomplete, and they would have had to sacrifice one of their team to gain the full formula."

"With it incomplete, the Synthergon would have dangerous side effects on any Cybertronian that used it, taking away their inhibitions while also making their bodies grow dependent on it." Six-shot added while confining to map the mine tunnels.

"Like a drug addict... I understand. But either way, whoever's complex this is, clearly found a way to use it as a power source." the Asari replied as she looked at the power signature on her holo-tool. Shockblast activated his own and ran a scan of the computer.

"I have gained access to some of the system, attempting to restore power to the..." he said before being cut of by the sound of generators powering up and the lighting system of the complex activating, illuminating the rooms and the corridors. The bot looked around at the lit up room and was about to speak when his com-link beeped.

"Shockblast, everything is powering up around us. And we are detecting a breathable atmosphere within the complex. Please tell us that was you?" one of the other teams asked.

"Yes, we have restored power. Nothing to worry about." he replied as the group removed their helmets, before the containment tank powered up and a trap door opened inside and a human sized synthetic body strapped down to a mobile berth rising up into the center of the tank.

"What is that? It looks like a blank slate." Liara asked with wide eyes, gaining mirrored looks from her team mates.

"That is a Pretender body." Shockblast replied.

"But it doesn't look like any Pretender model I have seen before." Six-shot said as his older brother took a scan with his holo-tool.

"This is a more advanced model than the ones that Cybertronians were forced to use all those years ago, I am not entirely sure but it looks like this has an 'T-Cog'."

Liara looked at him with another puzzled expression.

"T-Cog?"

"Back when our race had their original bodies, they also had a T-Cog which allowed them to scan a vehicle of equal size and the transform into a replica. The T-Cog in this Pretender is not as complex, it looks like it only alters the body slightly. In what way I am not entirely sure, I would need to see it in action." Shockblast replied as he walked closer to the glass canopy that surrounded the pretender, only for his holo-tool to start pinging, taking his attention from the body.

"Alright, I have manage to interface with the main computer, accessing the data logs now."

"I thought the computer would have been more encrypted than that, considering how well locked this place was." Six-shot said.

"Maybe whoever owned this place never thought anyone would figure out the codes to gain entry, let alone reach this far." the older brother replied as looked down at the holo-screen in front of him as lines of data scrolled down it. Liara took a closer look at the pretender with an unnerved expression.

"I know it is a blank slate, but that thing doesn't look particularly friendly."

Six-shot stood beside her and looked at it too as Shockblast smiled and clicked his fingers as his holo-tool pinged again.

"Eureka, now let's get some answers." he said as the others stood beside him, just as he enlarged the holo-screen which changed to show a Cybertronian figure looking back at them. It was quite bulky and it's armour was purple colored, but it was the solitary red optic staring back that was most recognizable to two of the group.

"Shockwave! Well now we know which faction this complex belonged to." Six-shot exclaimed in surprise as Liara looked at screen.

"Shockwave, who's that?"

"He was the Decepticon's Head Scientist and he was well known for 'tampering with with nature'." the younger bot replied.

"Are we going to see what this log is about or do you guys want to carry on talking." Shockblast said with a tone mixed with annoyance and excitement.

"Yeah alright, I know what this means to you Shockblast. With your liking of all things Decepticon-like." Six-shot said back.

"Well I have known you for five years (dated you for two) and I am still not really comfortable with your favorite subject. I mean the Decepticons were evil right?" Liara said as she looked at her boyfriend.

"It was a civil war, only beliefs and ideals separated our people down the middle. It was the Cons leader who was truly evil, and he ruled the faction using fear to keep his men in line." Shockblast replied.

"Megatron, that's his name right?" the Asari asked back, earning a nod from the brothers.

"Well I still don't understand it, but at least your not obsessed with the Reapers like some others I know. Those things nearly destroyed my planet, let alone the entire galaxy. I guess that is far worse." Liara added.

"That's right, especially since the Reapers were creations of Unicron and the Decepticons were enemies of him too. Megatron even allied himself with Optimus Prime to defeat The Chaos Bringer." Shockblast said.

"Yeah, I remember hearing all about that back at school...so can we play this log now?" Six-shot asked earning a smile from the two lovers, before the older bot tapped the holo-screen to activate the video.

_"Research log Alpha nine seven two. My continuing research into Pretender technology has brought up a weakness that If not corrected, could prove fatal to any Decepticon using it. Though it is true that even in these smaller bodies, we would still have strength and stamina which would give us an advantage over the Humans, but to maintain adequate deception and allow our agents to walk among our enemy, then certain advantages of ours had to be sacrificed to allow the mimicry to be successful. But now, using the knowledge gained from successful experiments such as Airachnid and to a certain degree, the Dinobots. I believe that I can finally produce a Pretender form that will give us a permanent advantage, not just over the humans, but over all of our enemies."_

The video ended and the three friends looked at each other.

"So that pretender over there is what he came up with." Liara said.

"Certainly looks that way, the log was dated during the final year of the war. The Decepticons never got the chance to use any of the Pretender tech, good job too." Six-shot replied as Shockblast kept his eyes on his holo-screen as he scrolled through the list of vid logs. Suddenly The younger bot's com-link activated.

"Six-shot, I was trying to contact Shockblast but seem to have trouble making a connection." the Salarian scientist from earlier said, making the young bot look over to his brother. Shockblast just gave him a look which said 'I turned it off', so Six-shot just smiled and shrugged.

"...yeah, it seems that we are having trouble with our communicators."

"But I managed to contact you just fine." the Salarian replied.

"I don't know why that is, I am only a pilot after all." Six-shot answered, annoyance beginning to show in the tone of his voice.

"Well I need to speak to Shockblast..." the Salarian said, earning a eye roll from the older brother who in frustration tapped his com-link.

"What is it? He snapped.

"Ugh... Well no need for that tone." the Salarian replied in a similarly angry tone. Shockblast did not need this right now, this particular scientist was annoying at best, but now with the discovery they had just made, he did not have the time nor patience to put up with him.

"What is it?" he asked again, this time with a little less anger.

"Well...we have found what appears to be the controls for a space bridge generator in the laboratory we are currently inside, I thought you would like to know." the Salarian replied, though you could hear in his voice that he was still pissed off.

"Okay, mark the lab on your holo-map, rendezvous with the other teams and come over to our location, we have just activated Shockwave's main computer." Shockblast replied.

"Shockwave... Alright we are on our way." was the reply from the scientist as he closed the com channel.

"Well he certainly changed his tune." Six-shot said as his brother returned his attention to the data base.

"There is another file data log that looks interesting, but I am having trouble accessing it."

Liara looked at the holo-screen with a curious expression.

"Why, is it encrypted?"

"No, it seems to be connected to a separate system. Let me just try...(ping)..that's it." he said as suddenly a loud humming could be heard from behind the north wall directly behind of them, making the group turn round.

"What did did you do?" Six-shot said as he and Liara looked at Shockblast.

"I saw a file in the database that had no name or description what so ever, so I activated it." the bot replied as just like earlier with the large door, the sound of gears turning could be heard before a section of the wall ascended, revealing a inner chamber. It was no bigger than a closest, but contained something that made everyone's eyes widen in surprise.

"Is that what I think it is?" Six-shot asked as they stared at a machine that had a glass cylinder in it's center, and inside that pulsed a red glowing ball of energy.

"It looks like a spark." Shockblast observed.

"But I thought sparks were always white colored, I have never heard of a red colored one before." he added.

"Instead of standing here scratching your heads, how about looking through the database. Surely there is information about this." Liara said as she brought up the database on her holo-tool after transferring the entry key from Shockblast. But just as she started searching the files, the other groups entered the lab.

"Well we are here l, what have you fou..." the Salarian said before catching a glimpse of the red spark pulsing in front of them. For a long moment, everyone other than Liara (who was still searching through the database) just looked at the spark. Some of them were admiring the red energy that pulsed through out it, others just stared at it with a focused expression. But then the Asari brought them all out of the trance.

"Damn it." she cursed, which was out of character for her.

"What?" Shockblast asked as he looked over to the Asari.

"I found the files, but they are all too fragmented to activate."

Just as she said this, Her boyfriend suddenly had an idea.

"Wait, why don't we just transfer it to the Pretender over there and Wake them up?" he said.

"You said this was Shockwave's lab right, and now you want to wake up some experiment in the hope it knows what was done to it. It's more likely to try and kill us." the Salarian said in response.

"Or we may just free someone who has been another victim of his twisted science." Six-shot said, earning a smile from his brother.

"Right, I think it is worth the risk. I mean we do carry weapons with us, so we can act if whoever it is does end up being a threat." the bot said as he gestured to the pistol equipped to his waist.

"We should at least inform the Icarus of this and see what Commander Vallius thinks." another scientist said amongst the group.

"The storm is still going to strong out there for our com-links to work." Shockblast replied.

"Wait, what about the space bridge generator. We could repair that in say...a couple of hours, then use it to get help from the ship." the Salarian said back.

"That would take too much time, and do you really have any experience repairing space bridge technology?" Shockblast replied sarcastically.

"I believe it would be more prudent than waking up an experiment that we have no idea what it is." the Salarian spat.

"Enough!" Liara shouted at the pair of them, making both men look at her with startled expression.

"Shockblast, do you think we can wake him up in that containment tank as an added security measure?" she then asked while pointing at it.

"Sure." he replied confidently, which made the Asari smile.

"Well in the five years I have known you, I have learnt not to doubt you. Can't see any reason why I should start now." she added with a loving smile.

"Alright, we have quite a few preparations to make before we can pull this off." the bot said enthusiastically, as he started giving orders to the rest of the team.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Twenty minutes later and everyone took their positions around the lab, three of which held their pistols at the containment tank which still held the inactive pretender body. Which was connected to the cylinder containing the unknown spark via a transparent cable. Shockblast was standing just behind one of the armed scientists, as he and Liara oversaw the operation. Six-shot stood just aways from them, next to the machine containing the red spark.

"Alright, we are ready for transfer." he said as his brother nodded back.

"Then let's begin, start the transference."

The younger bot then tapped a control on his holo-tool which bright the machine to life, and suddenly the red spark began drifting out of the glass cylinder, down the cable and towards the vacant body lying in the middle of the large room.

"Okay, so far so good." Shockblast stated as he kept his attention on both the read outs from his holo-tool, and also the progress of the spark, which was coming up to the half way point of the journey. The bot felt a lump grow in his throat as he watched it slowly move down the cable, before it entered the tank and went into the pretender body via an adapter on it's chest. Almost immediately, the pretender started to change. It's skin color became that of a Caucasian male in his early-forties, his hair was black with a hint of silver mixed in as it appeared on his head. His torso shaped itself into a well toned and built frame, as the rest of the body grew in height an extra inch or so (six foot tall). The newly transformed figure had the look of a battle hardened veteran as he lay there on the berth. Everyone outside of the containment tank just watched in amazement at the transformation that had occurred before them.

"That was amazing." Liara exclaimed before the newly created Cybertronian's eyes suddenly opened, revealing his eyes to have red irises. He gasped as he took his first breath and rose up from the berth, surprising everyone before falling to his knees with his hands up against the glass.

"Help...me." he said on a deep, commanding voice. Though a hint of helplessness could be made out in his tone as he looked up at the people staring at him from the other side of the glass.

"Well what are you waiting for, he needs help." Shockblast said urgently while the others looked on utterly dumbstruck.

"Why don't you help me?" the new born bot said.

"Six-shot give me a hand." Shockblast said, earning a nod from his brother as both started for the containment tank's control panel. When suddenly the Salarian scientist got in their way and pointed his pistol at them.

"What are you doing? he obviously needs aid." Six-shot asked in disbelief.

"No, this has gone to far. As soon as the storm passes, I am reporting to Commander Vallius. We should let him decide the fate of this...?"

The Salarian then turned to the unknown male and looked down at him.

"What is your name?"

The bot looked up at him with a confused expression.

"My...name?"

"Yes your name, what is it?" the scientist snapped, but the man was unfazed by the Salarian's attitude.

"My name is..." he started to say before mumbling the first half of his name.

"...atron."

Everyone, Shockblast included stared at him with their eyes wide.

"Did he say what I think he just said?" one of the others said at the back.

"Are you Megatron?" the Salarian asked, this suddenly caused a change in the Cybertronian as his eyes met with the scientist's and stared at him coldly.

"No!" his answer was cold with a hint of anger in his tone as he began to stand up.

"Then...what is...it?" the Salarian asked, suddenly feeling very small due to the way that was being looked at. The man was now standing and bracing his hand against the glass, the nails on his hand were changing into claws. His body became slightly more muscular and as he gritted his teeth as he felt his anger building up, revealing them to now be as sharp as a blade's tip. But what had everyone's blood suddenly running cold was that his red eyes now looked like those of a lizard.

My name..." he then said in an angry tone as he dug his claws into the glass, making multiple cracks appear, weakening it considerably. The group was now so scared by the sudden change in this bot, that even the ones with their pistols pointed at him could not move. Suddenly the man pulled at the glass, shattering it and freed himself from the tank. And before anyone could react, he charged out and grabbed the Salarian by the throat, digging his claws into his neck and causing blood to pour from the wounds. As the scientist died there in his grip, the man looked around at the others staring back in fear.

"My name is Galvatron, you will kneel before me...or die!"


	2. Chapter 2

 

Liara stood there in complete fear after witnessing the being who called himself Galvatron butcher every member of their team, except Shockblast, Six-shot and herself. The three stood there in an almost paralyzed fashion as Galvatron dropped the last body to the ground before looking at his claws, which were covered and dripping blood onto the floor.

"Speak, or I will let you join the rest of your team." he said, not even bothering to turn to face them.

"Why haven't we already?" Shockblast asked with a lump in his throat, not knowing if these would be his last words. Galvatron finally turned around and stared at them, his eyes now back to their original red.

"You are alive because I wish it, for I require your assistance."

Liara's expression changed to one of anger as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"You expect us to help you after you killed everyone?"

Galvatron walked over to her and leaned close.

"If you value your lives...you will."

"We will never work for you." Six-shot replied defiantly, earning a glare from the bot standing over them.

"I think you will, all you need is the proper incentive."

He then back handed Liara so hard, that she was sent flying into the wall behind them. A slight shimmer of blue flowed over her body for a split second as she hit the wall before collapsing on the floor.

"You son of a bitch!" Six-Shot spat back while his brother just looked back at the still form of his girlfriend while in a state of complete shock.

Galvatron though just grabbed both bots off the ground by their necks and held then in the air effortlessly.

"We'll... never... work for... you" Shockblast said as he found his voice, though the grip around his throat made speaking difficult. Galvatron though just gave them a dark smile.

"Yes you will, by the end of this day you will call me...master."

He then threw them down to the ground, the impact knocking them both out. He then looked down at the floor, his thoughts taking over. Galvatron was his name, that much he knew. But it seemed to be all that he knew, since when he tried to remember anything from before, his recollection would be greeted by nothing but a foggy haze inside his mind. Though he did have skills, he found this out with the many different ways he had killed the people that had stood around him since his reawakening. He was also a quick study as he picked up one of the com links that had fallen out of an ear of one of the dead crew, and knew in just a few moments what it was and what it did.

Galvatron put the device to the side for now as he just at this moment wanted to know why, what he was, why he was. This irritated the Bot, but not as much as when someone called Megatron. As soon as he heard that name, his rage boiled over. Yet he did not know who this name belonged to, or why he had the reaction he did when hearing it. This was all very confusing for Galvatron and it also did not help that he had no idea where he was. What he needed was access to information about the here and now, and then it hit him. He remembered seeing one of the aliens using some sort of holo-device that appeared around their forearm.

' _It must be emitted from something on their body._ ' he thought as he walked over to the alien (another Salarian), knelt down beside it and lifted up the arm that it had appeared around. He felt his hand up and rain the forearm until his fingers came across a small lump on the underside.

' _There you are._ ' Galvatron thought.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Liara gasped as she woke and felt her body aching all over, she felt like she had been hit by MAKO but managed to sit up and look around. She was still in the laboratory and it was still littered with the bodies of her team mates, though she could not see Shockblast or Six-shot among them. The Asari had no idea how much time had passed since she fell unconscious, but when she tried to activate her con-link all she received was static. She knew that staying put wasn't an option, so Liara took a breath and braced herself as she got to her feet, the pain escalating the more pressure she put her body under to move. Once standing, she took out some medi-gel and treated herself. This had an immediate effect and the pain subsided somewhat, though she would still feel sore. But at least she would be able to move easier. Liara looked at the wall she had been thrown into and saw the large crater that had been created by the impact.

_'Thank the goddess I was able to create a biotic barrier a second before I hit the wall, or else I would have been killed.'_ she thought to herself before a strange mechanical noise and the sounds of someone grunting in pain caught her attention from down the corridor, which brought her thoughts back to her Boyfriend and his Brother. The Asari slowly made her way out of the room to investigate the noise, but not before giving a silent prayer to her colleagues that Galvatron had murdered earlier.

Limping down the massive but dimly lit corridor, she should have still been amazed at how tall the Cybetronians must have been when in their original bodies, to have built such vast and gigantic architecture. But seeing everyone in the dig team murdered had eroded her sense of wonder, replacing it with a cold understanding of her predicament. She had to get back to the Icarus and report what had happened , but not before finding Shockblast and his brother. Since their bodies were not among the dead, Liara could only hypothesize that Galvatron needed them for some twisted purpose. She made it to the room where the noises originated and took a look inside, she saw her eyes widened in horror at what she saw. The Asari could see Shockblast and his brother Six-shot being held in place on a berth each that was at an angle, they were both unconscious still as she also saw Galvatron with his back to her while working a holo-tool. It looked like he was viewing the ship's database with it.

_'Been catching up on the times? And how in the world did you get a holo-tool?'_ she thought before remembering that she had passed a body on her way out of the lab, one that had it's right arm mutilated. Like someone wanted something that was inside it and did not care if they made a mess to get it.

Meanwhile back on the Icarus, another Asari turned to Commander Vallius and handed him a pad.

"Sir it would seem that one of the dig team has accessed the ship's computer."

The Turian looked down at the pad and scrolled through it's list.

"Why would they be accessing data on the Reaper war and everything that happened before it and after?"

The Asari crewman garage him a blank expression.

"Unknown sir, maybe they are on break and just reading. They have been over there for more then eight hours now."

Vallius looked at the timer on the holo-interface that was being emitted from the right hand armrest of his chair, then turned to his con officer.

"Has the storm died down enough for us to contact them?"

The human sitting there shook his head.

"No sir, and it does not appear to be dying down anytime soon." he replied, making the Commander look o the ground with a thoughtful expression, he then activated his com-link.

"Vallius to Lt Seska, please put together a team and prepare to head out to the dig site."

The Turian then looked back at the officer with a concerned look.

"I have a bad feeling about all this."

Liara had stayed quiet as Galvatron continued to read everything from the history of the Federation to the Icarus's mission. He then deactivated the holo-tool and walked out of view for a few moments, before reappearing with two familiar looking bodies on mobile berths.

_'Pretender bodies?'_

Liara then watched as their enemy then connected a transparent cable to the chest of one pretender and then began to connect the other to the bare chest of the unconscious Shockblast.

_'By the goddess, I have to stop him!'_ she thought immediately as it dawned on her what Galvatron was doing to her boyfriend. She clenched her fist and concentrated, making it glow with blue biotic energy. But the moment she tried to move forward with some urgency, the pain from her earlier injury came back with a vengence making her gasp in pain and grab at her side. Galvatron looked up as he heard the noise and turned around to see what had made it, but all he saw was an empty doorway. He narrowed his red eyes and continued to look for a moment, not realising that Liara was hiding behind the wall and trying to keep as quiet as possible despite the pain she felt. After what felt like an age, the killer realised there was nothing there and returned his attention to Shockblast as he connected the cable to the bot's chest. The sharp tiny blades in the connectors drawing blood as they pierced his flesh.

Liara looked back round the corner to see his body flinch as the cable finished the connection and her heart sank, for she knew that in her current state, she would be unable to help him or Six-shot who Galvatron then started the same procedure to. He then reactivated his new holo-tool and turned on the large device that was now connected between the two Cybertronians and their respective Pretender bodies, suddenly making both bots scream out in excruciating pain. Liara could only watch with tears beginning to run down her face as their sparks were being forced from their bodies, their rib cages snapped open as their chests exploded with blood spraying out in all directions. Then the glowing white balls of energy...aka their sparks appeared inside the cabling and travelled through to the pretender bodies on the other end.

The Asari looked at the bloodied and ruptured body of Shockblast, her Boyfriend and wished that she had said no to him earlier when discussing whether to give the spark, that turned out to be a murderous man called Galvatron the pretender body they had found. She sighed, her heart now heavy with regret before continuing to watch as the two sparks entered their new if not forced homes. Just as with Galvatron, the pretenders immediately reconfigured and altered themselves as soon as the sparks were inside. Before she knew it, Liara was again looking at Shockblast and Six-shot as they lied on the berths like nothing had happened. Galvatron then moved the two dead bodies out of sight before returning to the pretenders, activating his holo-tool again and making a holo-interface appear before both newly created bots. He then typed in some commands on both as they showed images of Shockblast's and Six-shot's neural nets, which he then appeared to alter before flashing that evil smile of his.

_'What's he doing to their minds?'_ Liara thought as Galvatron then typed in a command on his holo-tool.

"Time to wake up my Brothers."

As if on command, both Bots opened their eyes and looked around the room before on the man standing before them gained their attention.

"Where are we?" Shockblast asked before noticing that he was restrained, his expression changing from confusion to nervous.

"What is going on, why are we restrained?" he asked.

"My brothers, there is no need for fear. I am liberating you from this place." Galvatron replied as he undid their restraints, allowing the two to get off the berths and look around. Liara hid behind the wall again as Six-shot looked out at the doorway, before staring back at the others.

"Your rescuing us, but I don't have any memory of being captured?" the younger bot said.

"Your memories will return soon, but it appears that the trauma created by our capture, erased that particular one." Galvatron replied.

"You were captured too?" Shockblast asked as he looked looked around the room.

"Yes, I awoke very much the same as you. But in another room, surrounded by aliens who were attempting to experiment on me. So I broke out and killed them, my memory then returned. So I searched this place and found you two in here." the older bot replied with a smile, knowing full well that the younger bots would buy his version of events.

"Though I can not recall your names..." he added, earning thoughtful expressions from both before the older of the two spoke.

"I am... Shockblast and this...is Six-shot. So who are you?"

"I am Galvatron and I require your assistance to find out what else happened here, and if any more of our Brethren are located at this complex."

Both bots nodded back and smiled.

"It would be our honor to help the one who saved us, it's the least we can do." Six-shot replied.

"Excellent, our ship was destroyed but we can take theirs...the 'Icarus'. Also this planet we are on was once our ancestors but these aliens have come to claim it for themselves" Galvatron said, earning troubled expressions from the two brothers.

"Well according to my scan, the storm is still pretty strong out there. I would not recommend travelling by foot." Six-shot stated as he looked at his holo-tool.

"Wait, what about the space-bridge generator. I remember hearing the aliens say that it could be repaired." Shockblast replied, gaining a smile from Galvatron.

"Then that's the objective right now, repair the space bridge and take control of the Icarus."

"We will make the repairs Galvatron." Shockblast said as he brought up the directions on his holo-tool.

"Very well, I will study this place's database while you are gone." Galvatron replied.

"You will require the cipher that I have to access the main computer...there I just sent it to your holo-tool." the older of the two bots said back.

"Thank you Shockblast, keep me informed on your progress." the Galvatron answered before turning his back to them and looking at his holo-tool's screen. Both brothers then turned around and walked out of the room, unaware that Liara was shadowing them.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Galvatron kept typing on the interface of his holo-tool, looking through whatever files he could access. But stopped when he found video-files titled 'Gemini one' to 'Gemini three'. That stood out to the bot for a reason that for now escaped him, but initiated the file anyway. Pushing aside any feelings of trepidation and fear that had begun to surface at the sight of the title. The screen of his holo-tool then showed the image of a one eyed, purple armoured Cybertronian that Galvatron recognised immediately.

' _Shockwave, how do I know him?_ ' he thought as the video carried on.

_'Shockwave was standing at the console and viewing the data scrolling down the purple coloured screen in front of him, his single red optic taking in every single line of code before it left his sight._

_"Computer, commence scan on the CNA of this ancient life form and compare..."_

_"Shockwave!" a familiar and commanding voice called from behind the Decepticon scientist._

_"Belay test computer." He said before turning around and coming face to face with his master._

_"Lord Megatron, this visit is highly illogical. Shouldn't you be on board the Nemesis in preparation for the assault on the Autobot base?"_

_The Decepticon Leader narrowed his red optics at his lead scientist._

_"My comings and goings are of no concern to any Decepticon under my command Shockwave, this you should be painfully aware of."_

_The Scientist lowered his head in shame, which brought a smile to the Con Leader's face-plate._

_"Forgive my bluntness my liege, I was merely concerned that you may have left the operation to someone less capable."_

_"If you are referring to Starscream, he is under strict orders to hold back until my return. And he is fully aware of the consequences, should he attempt anything in my absence. We have four days until our assault, so there is more than enough time for my attention to be elsewhere."_

_Shockwave looked back up to his leader and noticed that he was carrying something in his hand._

_"I see, so what may I do for you Lord Megatron?"_

_"As you are aware, we have been in possession of a sample of the synthetic Energon. Retrieved over two years ago from the Autobot Medic...Ratchet. I gave Knockout the task of completing the formula and stabilizing it, but I am disappointed to say that with the war taking most of his attention as well as the continued torture and experiments on our prisoner 'Cylas'. The good doctor has made no progress with finding a solution to the negative effects that it has on our biology." Megatron replied._

_"The most logical reason for the unsuitability of the 'Synthergon' is that it's base formula is currently incomplete." the scientist deduced, gaining another smile from the Con leader._

_"Excellent deduction Shockwave, Knockout himself said the same thing, but now our species finds itself in a somewhat perilous state due to the dwindling Energon resources throughout the galaxy. So we desperately need this ...'Synthergon' now more then ever."_

_"We are in agreement my liege, so do you wish for me to carry on the research?" Shockwave asked, Megaton reacted by handing the scientist the a large vial of the bright green Energon._

_"Indeed Shockwave, perhaps you will have more luck than Knockout did."_

_"A logical conclusion Lord Megatron." the scientist replied before looking down at the liquid. He stared at it for a moment before the Decepticon Leader faked a cough, bringing Shockwave's single optic back to his own._

_"There is also another project I would like you to work on."_

_"Yes?" the scientist replied as he placed the Synthergon vial on the table._

_"What is it my liege?" he added as Megatron looked at the CNA sample on the screen that was overhead._

_"Like you mentioned earlier about Starscream, I too have found myself fearing for the future of the Decepticons should anything happen to my person during this war. Our cause needs a strong hand to guide them."_

_The scientist just kept his attention on Megatron, wondering where he was going with this line of thought. But then the Con leader turned and looked directly at him, his face-plate looking very serious._

_"Shockwave, I wish for you to clone my spark."_

_The room went very quiet for a moment, then the one eyed Con found his voice once the shock had subsided._

_"Lord Megatron, the spark is such a complex and delicate object, it may may be impossible to clone."_

_"You have been attempting to clone this sample of techno-organic matter, have you not? Megatron said as he gestured to the image on the purple lit screen overhead._

_"Indeed my liege, and though the sample contains a blueprint for not only the spark, but the entire form of a Cybertronian. It is currently unknown whether we can successfully clone it." Shockwave replied in his usual cold tone._

_"Would it not be beneficial to your research to have a real spark to test?" the Decepticon leader said._

_"Yes lord Megatron."_

_"Good, then you may use mine Shockwave." Megatron replied before getting on a berth and lying down on his back. The scientist stood over him with one of his tools in his only hand._

_"I will induce stasis."_

_"No, I wish to bare witness." the Con leader snapped, earning a nod from his chief scientist._

_"Very well."_

_Shockwave then tapped the Decepticon emblem on Megatron's chest, which triggered the entire chest-plate to open up, the outer layers folded back on themselves and a bright white light began to fill the room, as Megatron's spark was revealed to him._

_"My liege, the pain will be excruciating." Shockwave said as he held the tool out next to the white energy globe. But the Leader or the Decepticons just gave him an unconvinced look._

_"I was forged in the 'Pits of Kaon' Shockwave, pain is of no concern to me. Do it!"_

_The scientist merely nodded, though a little subdued and then held the tool inside Megatron's spark, making the Decepticon leader grit his teeth as Shockwave took the readings he required.'_

The video file ended and Galvatron selected the next one, that was dated as twenty hours later and activated it.

_'Shockwave stood next to a large vertical transparent cylinder that contained a white pulsating spark in it's center, the scientist was taking some readings as Megatron walked back into lab and looked over to him._

_"Report Shockwave, how goes project 'Gemini'?"_

_"The cloned spark's pulses are approaching the stable rate that is required, but I am concerned about the instability of it's core matrix." the scientist replied, never taking it's optic away from the spark. Megatron stopped beside him and smiled at pulsating energy globe._

_"You are doing exemplary work Shockwave, it does my spark good to see you continue to excel at tampering with nature."_

_The Decepticon leader then held out a metal box to Shockwave, who looked at him blankly (hard to convey a response when your face is just one optic)._

_"I wish for you to blend this into the spark, I believe this will strengthen its core." Megatron added. The scientist then took the box and opened it, releasing it's purple glow which reflected and amplified the colour of his own armour._

_"Dark Energon! My liege, do you believe that this element is required at this early stage?"_

_Megatron narrowed his optics at his lead scientist._

_"Shockwave, I have Dark Energon mixed into my own spark. I will not let my clone go without the same advantage. If it is fused to his spark now, he may even have a greater control of its power."_

_Shockwave shook his head as he looked at the spark and then back at the dark Energon._

_"I apologise Lord Megatron, I merely concerned that the unstable nature of the element will damage the newly created spark at this early stage of its development."_

_The Decepticon leader nodded in return._

_"I see your point Shockwave, but I must insist that you add the Dark Energon to the spark...right now!" he said he growled with gritted teeth._

_"Very well...my liege." the scientist acknowledged hesitantly before Megatron turned and walked out of the room, leaving Shockwave to his thoughts.'_

The video file ended, leaving just one more which was dated approximately fifteen hours later. Galvatron activated it, showing an image of Shockwave standing next to another transparent tank.

_'The scientist was looking into the murky, bubbling green liquid. Shockwave could just about see the silhouette of a familiar figure inside the liquid as he typed onto the control panel on its right side._

_"Shockwave, I received your message. So my clone is ready to be awakened." Meagtron said as he walk up beside the purple Decepticon._

_"Indeed my liege, I was just running a final diagnostic on its vitals. The infusion of Dark Energon has indeed strengthened the spark..." The scientist replied, making a smile appear on the Con Leader's faceplate._

_"...but I have been picking up a faint energy spike in the pulses that the spark has been emitting, it may be nothing but a side effect of the infusion. I will need time to study this anomaly." Shockwave continued._

_"Is he ready or not?" Megatron asked, his commanding voice tinted with an annoyed tone. Picking up on this, the scientist merely nodded in return, knowing that no matter what he had to say, his master was not interested._

_"Yes, I believe he is."_

_"Then wake him, I wish to witness the fruits of our collaboration."_

_The scientist then went to press the button that was flashing green on the control panel, but stopped midway._

_"My liege, you should know that this specimen was grown in this hyper-evolution tank, but it is just a prototype..."_

_Megatron felt his patience slipping away with every word that Shockwave said, so interjected angrily._

_"You said he was ready..."_

_"I did say so Lord Megatron." The scientist Con replied._

_"Then wake him!"_

_"Very well, but you must know that the clone should be a perfect copy of yourself, even down to the memories in his neural net."_

_Megatron placed his hand to his forehead and gritted his teeth._

_"Noted...now do as I command."_

_Shockwave then typed in a sequence into the control panel before pressing the green button, which immediately brought the machine to life as it drained the green murky liquid from the tank. This gave them the first real look at the clone._

_The red optics of Megatron widened as he looked it up and down. The clone looked almost identical to himself, but his silver armour had black and purple colors added to it, and it had a design that would not look out of place on Unicron. Though he was not restrained inside the tank, he did have numerous tubes connected to his person._

_"Amazing, he does look a lot like myself...but.."_

_"I believe that some of the changes you see is down to the Dark Energon that now circulates in his spark lord Megatron." Shockwave replied, then the clone began to stir. His optics opened and looked around the room before they fell upon the two figures standing in front of him._

_"I am Megatron, your Lord and Master." the Decepticon Leader announced, but the clone just stared at him blankly._

_"Do you understand me, answer me!" he spat as his anger started to grow with the ever deafening silence from the clone continued. Megatron then turned to Shockwave._

_"What is going on Shockwave, why does he not speak?"_

_The Con scientist just looked at him blankly before looking back at the clone._

_"I do not know my liege, logic would dictate that he should know everything that you do. And so be able to speak, so my hypothesis would be that he does not want to."_

_The clone reacted by staring into the single crimson optic of Shockwave's and then back at Megatron, who was becoming agitated with the situation._

_"Answer me, I command you!" he spat, with which the clone reacted with the exact same amount of anger and smashed his fists into the glass surrounding him, causing cracks to appear at the points of the impacts. This made both bots instinctively step back._

_"I take orders from no one!" the clone growled._

_"How did he damage the glass?" Megatron asked._

_"Unknown my liege, the hyper-evolution tank is reinforced and cannot be damaged even by the strongest Insecticons. Unless..." Shockwave answered as he took a scan of the clone._

_"Unless what?" Megatron spat with a confused look on his faceplate. Shockwave looked up from his scanner, with the way he was moving you would think that he was worried. But the moment he spoke, you could hear the unemotional tone in his voice still._

_"His spark is pulsating too quickly, it appears to be unstable. That would be a logical answer to his increased strength."_

_The clone kept hitting the glass, the cracks becoming larger as they spread out with each hit. Then suddenly the glass shattered and the clone stepped out of the open tank. Megatron looked at him in surprise, as did Shockwave._

_"I will rip you open and everyone else who stands in my way, for I am Galvatron...your superior!"_

_"In what sense?" Megatron snarled back._

_"In every sense." the clone replied coldly before charging at the pair and before the Decepticon leader could do anything, Galvatron connected a punch directly into Megatron's face and sent the Con flying into one of the tanks at the far end of the room. Shockwave then raised his arm-cannon at the clone and fired, but Galvatron dodged it and kicked the scientist in the chest. Shockwave fell to the floor as the clone walked over to Megatron, who was still recovering from the last attack. He had not been hit that hard since he fought the Insecticon that Airachnid had unleashed on him a few years ago. He looked up at the clone as it stood over him, it's crimson optics glaring down at him._

_"You created me to succeed you in the likelihood of your death, well that time is...now!" he exclaimed before he equipped his blade that slid out of an opening in his armoured forearm. He held it above his head, ready to bring it down on the Decepticon Leader, who mirrored his own expression._

_"I hope you do not expect me to beg for my life." Megatron replied as he knew that this Galvatron had the advantage._

_"I care not if you do, but know this. I will have your life and in doing so, become my own Master. Surpassing you in the process." the clone answered back._

_"I think not, you may have my memories and even my desires. But there is one thing that you do not have... Loyal Minions." Megatron replied, which made the clone raise an optic ridge before spinning round to see Shockwave standing there with his cannon pointed directly at him._

_"Go ahead and shoot, you will still not hit me." Galvatron gloated._

_"That would be illogical, for at this close range and power setting. I would hit lord Megatron, and that was not my intent."_

_It then suddenly dawned on the clone what was happening, but before he could do anything. Megatron was already back on his feet and he grabbed hold of Galvatron's shoulder with an iron like grip, before punching into his back and ripping out his spinal column and the spark chamber that was connected to it. The body fell to the ground with a loud clang as Megatron threw the spark over to the scientist, who caught it with his one hand._

_"Consider this your first failure Shockwave, I wanted a clone that would follow my orders. Not one that has all the treachery of Starscream."_

_"My liege, if I may be so bold. I believe after witnessing this Galvatron first hand, that the Dark Energon had actually not only strengthened the spark and the clone's strength, but also every aspect of the personality it shared with you, including your ambition. For this was not some poor copy, like the ones that Starscream once created of himself. This was a perfect clone of yourself that was altered by the element added to it during it's incubation...either way, this failure will no doubt build on my experience with cloning thus far. Especially with the CNA samples that I have already collected." Shockwave replied as he brought up an image of a CNA string and an icon that looked like a dragon head."_

_Megatron looked at the image._

_"interesting, of course you can continue with that and the Synthetic Energon. But consider project Gemini scrapped, I want this abomination disposed of, I have no need of a clone who would stab me in the back."_

_"My liege, the spark is too unstable to simply destroy. But I can seal it away, never to be seen again."_

_Before Megatron could answer, the intercom Activated and a familiar voice spoke._

_"Lord Megatron, Soundwave reports that all Autobots are now at their base. I have all troops ready for the assault." Starscream reported._

_"Very well, have Soundwave activate a space bridge for my return." the Con leader replied and a bright green vortex appeared behind him._

_"Keep me informed of your progress with these projects Shockwave."_

_"Of course my liege." the scientist said before Megatron turned around and entered the vortex, which closed the moment he was through.'_

Galvatron just stood and stared at the console in front of him, running everything he had just seen through his neural net. And that was when it hit him, images flashed right before his optics. Things that he personally had not done, fighting Optimus Prime numerous times on Cybertron and Earth, torturing and murdering Autobots. These were Megatron's memories he was seeing. His eyes narrowed as his anger started to grow and expand inside his spark. The one he was created from had wanted a tool, a legacy to continue his name. But when Galvatron had shown that he was not going to keep to that legacy, he was cast aside. The Decepticon clone then let his anger flare as his alt mode re-emerged, claws and all.

"Arrrrrragh!" he raged as he attacked the console, destroying it in a devastating series of slices and swipes. Galvatron pictured the Decepticon leader in front of him as he attacked, his claws ripping through the metal easily. He then stopped and breathed heavily when all that was left was a smoking wreck that used to be a machine.

' _Megatron you gave me life, only to view me as a failed experiment and leave me to rust. I will show you, show the galaxy how wrong you were._ ' he thought before something came to mind, the image of the 'dragon's head' that he saw on Shockwave's screen.

' _Yesss, I will lead an army. One that eclipses even the Decepticons possessed and we will conquer this galaxy, and I will prove to be everything that Megatron wasn't._ '

The clone smiled before walking out of the lab, seeking out the help of the two bots be had brainwashed.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

In another lab elsewhere in the complex, Shockblast and Six-shot were busy attempting repairs on the space bridge generator.

"Just have to connect these last two power nodes and..." Shockblast replied as he rummaged through inner workings of the maintenance panel on the side of the console, as his brother kept an eye on the power readings with his holo-tool.

"Careful Shockblast, if you are off by just a inch. You will short out the entire mechanism."

"You worry too much Six-shot, we have been following the schematics that I downloaded from the complex's mainframe. Following the instructions and plans to the letter, it will work...there, try it now." the older brother replied as he got too his feet and took a step back. Six-shot then linked his holo-tool to the space bridge and ran the machine's start up sequence. The giant machine suddenly lit up and hummed loudly as it came to life, earning a confident smile from Shockblast.

"Told you, now what do you say?"

The younger bot sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"...your always right."

"Good, now let's get back to Galvatron and find out what we can help him with next." Shockblast said as he turned around with his brother. But the moment they were facing the doorway, they both stopped in their tracks as an Asari stood in their way.

"Shockblast?" She asked with a hopeful tone in her voice.

Both bots replied by equipping their pistols and pointing them at her.

"Another alien!" Six-Shot said angrily, a comment that took her by surprise. But she cast a barrier around herself and showed her biotic energy building in her clenched fists.

"What? It's me, Liara. don't you recognise me?" the Asari asked back. The two brothers gave each other confused glances before looking back at Liara coldly.

"Can't say we do, and how do you know my name?" the older bot replied.

"I have known you the last five years, been lovers with you for the last one, surely you can't have forgotten that." Liara said. Bot bots laughed while continuing to keep their aim on her.

"I seriously doubt that, think I would remember sleeping with a bright blue alien woman with tentacles for hair."

Liara felt her heart sink a little at Her boyfriend's words, but knew that she had to get through to him.

"Three years ago, you found yourself trapped after a cave -in during a search through some underground ruins on Vartan four."

Shockblast's eyes widened as he remembered that day.

"How do you know that?" he asked as he felt his resolve lessen slightly.

"Because I was the one who dug you out, using my Biotics." Liara replied as she looked Shockblast in the eyes.

"Don't listen to her, this alien could have easily looked up your profile on the Icarus's database to find that out." Six-shot said, never taking his aim off of the Asari.

"No, Shockblast listen to m..." Liara began to say before she suddenly felt a force akin to a wrecking ball hit her in the face, knocking the Asari off her feet and onto the ground. Both bots looked wide eyed as they saw Galvatron standing over the alien woman, he looked at them with a reassuring expression.

"Are you both alright, this alien scum did not say anything to upset you did she?"

"No Galvatron, she said nothing of consequence. Just lies to try and confuse us." Six-shot replied, though Shockblast looked unsure. The Decepticon clone immediately noticed this.

"Do not believe the lies of this alien, her people had us captured and tortured while they took our ship went through our database. They are not to be trusted."

Liara who was still conscious due to her barrier taking most of the impact, looked up at both bots.

"No, I saw him mess with your neural nets. You cannot trus..."

Before she could finish, Galvatron grabbed her by the throat and pulled her off the ground. Her legs dangling as he held her up in the air.

"You aliens are more resilient than I thought, no matter. Because you will die now."

He then lifted his free fist and pulled it back, ready to deliver the killing blow.

"Everybody freeze!" another voice called out from the doorway, gaining their attention. What the bots saw was a security team made up of Turians, Asari and Humans all aiming their assault rifles at them.

"Let Dr T'Soni go now!" the lead soldier commanded, Galvatron simply smiled before tossing Liara to them. One of the soldiers picked her off the ground and helped her to the back of the group.

"She is hurt, I will get her back to the ship."

"Very well, we will hold the others here." the leader replied.

"Wait, Shockblast and Six-shot are not themselves. That man has brainwashed them." Liara said earning confused looks from he two brothers.

"We can take it from here Liara, go." the leader said before turning his attention back to the three bots, as the other soldier and Liara left the scene. Galvatron then turned to Shockblast and Six-shot, seemingly not bothered by the armed group a head of them.

"Yet more lies from the aliens my brothers, will you stand with me against our common foe or surrender. Make your choice now..." he said before looking back at the group, his body began changing as his beast-like mode took over again.

"...for I choose to fight!" he growled as he gritted his sharpened teeth. Both brothers looked at each other for a second before turning their attention to the enemies standing in their way.

"We will fight!" they said in unison as they too let their anger take over, and the group of soldiers all watched with fear freezing them in place as the brothers bodies changed and mirrored that of Galvatron's beast-like mode .

"Goddess help us... Open fire!" the lead soldier shouted as the three bots launched themselves at the group.


	3. Chapter 3

 

The sounds of screams and gunfire echoed down the large, but dimly lit corridors of Shockwave's secret complex. It was like music to Galvatron's ears as he gutted another soldier with his claws, feeling the insides of his enemy turn to mush as he slashed through his stomach. As Six-shot and Shockblast finished off the rest of the group in a similar fashion, the clone looked into the eyes of the human in his grips and watched the light leave them. Galvatron took great satisfaction in watching his final moments, before throwing the dead body aside with the rest of the corpses.

"Two of the aliens are still out there, we must catch them before they get back to the Icarus." Six-shot said as he ripped his claws out of the Salarian that fell to the ground where he stood.

"We don't need to chase them down." Shockblast replied as he had already reactivated his holo-tool.

"Explain Shockblast." Galvatron asked while the younger brother began staring at his claws.

"We have repaired the Space-bridge generator, it can be used to gain us access directly onto the Icarus, wherever we wish."

"Excellent, lock coordinates on the Icarus's bridge." Galvatron replied before noticing Six-shot, who was still looking at his claws.

"What is the matter Six-shot?"

The younger bot just kept staring at his hands, the pupils of his eyes wide as he took in all the detail with a worried expression.

"What?...what happened to us?"

Shockblast immediately stopped what he was doing and went over to his brother.

"I don't know Six-shot, I have felt different since I awoke. And then when the soldiers attacked, I felt my anger building up till it was at exploding point."

Six-shot looked at his older brother and nodded.

"Yeah, me too. And then I suddenly felt faster, stronger. More feral."

Both of them then looked at Galvatron, obviously looking for answers. The clone knew he had to keep them at his side but as luck would have it, he also has Megatron's silver tongue.

"The bodies you now have...are not your original ones."

The brothers looked at him, their eyes going wide as they listened to his words.

"What!" they both answered in unison.

"You see I was the result of an experiment...by the very aliens that had captured us. They placed my spark in this 'prototype' Pretender body as I told you, I then escaped and killed them. But when I searched and came across the two of you, the condition that your bodies were in..." Galvatron then stopped and looked away from them for a moment, feigning the look of a man that had witnessed horrors.

"...was like nothing I had seen before. You had been sliced open and dissected, I did not know how or if you were still alive. But I had to act quickly, so I transferred your sparks into the bodies you now possess."

The room remained quiet as Galvatron turned from them as if in shame, but really he was hoping that they would buy his story.

"I...had no idea, you really did save us" Shockblast replied with relief in his voice, thus making the clone smile as he stood with his back to them. But then he turned and looked at them with a hopeful, but sullen expression.

"I apologise for not informing you of the truth sooner, I feared how you would take it...Forgive me."

Galvatron then lowered his head and looked at the ground, but then felt a hand on his shoulder, which made a smirk appear on his face before it then disappeared as he returned his attention and saw both brothers looking at him with half smiles.

"You have nothing to apologise for Galvatron, if it had not been for you then we would be one with the Allspark right now."

The clone then mirrored their smile, though inside he was laughing. He had the two of them eating out of his hands, but then that's when a new problem appeared in his neural net.

_'I cannot let them access the Icarus database in it's current condition, for they would be able to see past the lies I have constructed to keep the pair in line.'_  he thought as Shockblast activated the space bridge generator with his holo-tool.

"Alright, I have Icarus bridge coordinates locked in. We are ready to ground bridge there whenever you are."

Galvatron then looked at them both, as a smile grew on his face.

"Excellent."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

The atmosphere on the Icarus bridge was tense to say the least. Commander Vallius sat in his chair and stared out at the war torn visage of Cyberton through the view-screen, the rest of his bridge crew tried to remain just as quiet while they waited for the second group to report in. But that didn't stop some from trying to whisper to each other.

"How long has it been?"

"Long enough that we should have heard something by now."

"I haven't seen the Commander this way before..."

Vallius looked over to those talking, his face looking very stern.

"That's enough over there."

He was about to say more, when the Quarian running the science station in Liara spoke up.

"Sir, I am picking up two life signs emerging from the mountain. And they are heading this way."

"Can you identify?" the Commander replied.

The Quarian then nodded in response.

"Yes sir, it is one of the secondary group that was sent out. And the other is Dr T'Soni."

"Commander, I am receiving a com-signal from them." the communications officer spoke, gaining Vallius's attention.

"Put them on speakers."

The officer nodded and tapped the holo-interface of their station and suddenly the quiet atmosphere was replaced with an influx of noise and static.

"...Commander...ius...grou...att...ked...dan...ous ."

Vallius shook his head before looking at the communications officer again.

"Can you clear it up?"

"I apologise Commander, the storm is starting to die downs. But it is still causing problems with communications."

Vallius then looked at the Asari manning the Operations station.

"Open the nearest airlock and allow them on board the ship. And once they are on board, have T'Soni brought up here. I want answers to what is going on down there."

The crewman nodded and complied, but just as she activated the airlock. Everyone's attention was taken up by a glowing green vortex appearing at the front of the room, covering the view-screen.

"What the?" the Commander managed to say before two people exited it and looked at them all. Everyone went wide eyed as they recognised the two arrivals and their new armour (same colour scheme as before).

"Shockblast, Six-shot?" Vallius replied with a stunned expression, but the two brothers reminds quiet as they looked around the room. Then suddenly they began to change right there in front of everyone, earning fearful looks as the bots entered their alt mode again. Six-shot then looked over at the Asari to his right, his lizard like eyes taking in every detail of her before he launched himself at her. She tried to scream but he tackled her to the ground and began ripping her apart, spraying blood all over the wall in front of them. The bridge crew then panicked and started to rush for the exit, this gained Shockblast's attention who then attacked the nearest crewman to himself...a Salarian.

The Commander then equipped his pistol and pointed it at Six-shot who had moved on from the Asari to a Human who had failed to get out quick enough. But then a third person exited the green vortex, making Vallius turn his attention to the new arrival. But before he could pull the trigger, the stranger grabbed his weapon hand and snapped his wrist, the Turian grimaced as he dropped the weapon on the floor. He then felt an iron like grip around his neck, as he was lifted off the ground. Vallius looked into the demonic red eyes of this man who now held his life in his hands...literally.

"Who...are...you?" he managed to ask, though he was having trouble breathing.

"I am Galvatron, and I am taking this vessel." the stranger replied arrogantly, the Turian commander tried to fight against the hold he was in, but Galvatron just smiled darkly at him.

"Over...my...dead...body!"

"Not a problem." the clone replied before he increased the strength of his grip around the Turian's neck, causing Vallius to begin chocking as he fought for every last breath he could. But then bones could be head cracking and snapping, and the commander suddenly went quiet with one final loud snap as his neck was completely crushed. Galvatron then dropped the body on the floor and looked over to his men.

"Galvatron, the others escaped further into the ship." Shockblast said as he looked at him, gaining a smile from the clone.

"Then by all means you two, hunt down and kill them all."

both bots grinned before smiling at each other, seemingly enjoying the thought of the hunt. They then rushed off the bridge, leaving Galvatron there. He sat down in the Commander's chair and activated the user interface while Vallius's corpse was less than a metre away and still warm. The orange holo-screen appeared in front of him along with a keyboard and Galvatron began searching for any reference to Shockblast and Six-shot, then deleting them. Meanwhile down the hall, screams could be heard as the rest of the Icarus's crew met the same fate as their Commander.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Down in the shuttle bay, the Airlock opened up and Liars along with the soldier who helped her escape entered the Icarus. Seemingly unaware of the slaughter that was currently happening on board the ship. They both looked around the large bay, which had another MAKO and numerous crates stored there. But not a single crewman in sight.

"Well thats strange, there is usually someone down here." the soldier said as he instinctively hovered his hand over the pistol on his utility belt. Liara noticed this and tapped her com-link.

"This is Liara T'Soni, can anyone hear me?"

But the only sound she heard was static, making the Asari shake her head in response to the soldier staring at her. He then sighed and equipped his pistol.

"Alright, let's head for the bridge."

She nodded and the two of them moved toward the doorway that exited the shuttle-bay. Once in corridors, the two were welcomed by something you would usually expect to see in one of those horror-vids that can be found on the extranet, the walls were covered in blood with body parts acid their crew scattered all over the place. The soldier immediately threw up at the sight of it, showing his inexperience with such horrors. And though she was an Asari, one that is one hundred and twenty five years old (Asari can live to be 'one thousand').

She had only witnessed this kind of massacre once before, and that was only an hour or so ago. She did not know which was worse, witnessing such things or the fact that she was already used to it. She lowered her head and whispered a pray for the fallen, a number of which use recognised. The Asari had worked and lived with these people for the last five years, how could Shockblast and Six-Shot do such evil to the crew. Liara then looked back to the soldier who was wiping his mouth clear with his free hand, but still shake by what he just saw.

"I don't think we should head for the bridge, the nearest com-terminal would be an easier choice. We have to contact the ISF and warn them about what we have found here."

"Yeah, I think your right." the soldier agreed as he held on to his pistol tightly.

"There should be one on this deck, follow me." he added.

Together the pair began moving down the corridors, trying to ignore the bodies that were littered around the place, while also hearing more screams coming from the distance. Liara and the soldier made it to a junction when suddenly a human female ran out of an open doorway in a delirious state as she ran toward the pair.

"Oh my god, oh my god, help me, help me hel..." she cried out before being interrupted by a small arrow bursting out of her chest, it then spread it's claws out and clung at the flesh around it, securing it in place. The woman looked down in horror at it before coughing up some blood, she then looked up at the pair. Her eyes wide with fear as another voice could be heard from behind her.

"Get back in here you wretch."

Suddenly the woman was grabbed from behind by a sharp set of claws, which yanked her back into the room and out of their sight. Liara and the soldier then heard the woman make one long harrowing scream before it was cut short by the sound of flesh being ripped apart, everything went quiet for a moment before the voice spoke again.

"Shockblast, I think that's everyone on this deck. How's yours looking?"

The soldier then readied his pistol as Six-shot walked out of the doorway casually, he did not even seem bothered that his armour was now stained with the blood of those he had just killed.

"...really, well thats good..." the bot said before stopping when he spotted both Liara and the soldier, a dark smile appearing on his face in that moment.

"... Well look what we have here. Brother, that Asari who escaped us in the complex... Well she has only just appeared in front of me... Yes, that was very considerate of her." he said as he carried on his conversation over the con-link, seeming unbothered by the two.

"Get down here as soon as you can, I mean if you want dibs on either of these two." he finished before ending the call and revealing his claws. The soldier took a step ahead of Liara, never taking his aim off of the bot.

"Dr T'Soni, there is a com-terminal in the room at the end of that corridor." he said as he gestured to his left.

"Go now, I'll cover you." he added while the Asari looked unsure.

"But..." she simply said before he looked directly at her, his expression focused and determined. As if consigned to the fate that awaited him.

"GO!"

Liara then just turned and ran down the corridor, away from them as fast as she could.

"I'll see you soon." Six-shot called to her in a playful tone, making the soldier look back at him.

"No you won't." he said defiantly, making the bot's smile fade as he narrowed his lizard like eyes at him.

"Then show me what you've got."

Six-shot then launched himself at the soldier who fired back.

Liara was halfway down the corridor when she heard several gun shots echo from where she had just left, making her stop and look back. But then there was silence, as the cold hard truth dawned on her.

_'Run Liara, run, run...RUN!_ ' she thought to herself as she began running again, toward the area that the soldier had told her too. A hundred yards more and she could see her destination, a red door at the far end. She was beginning to tire, but put everything she had into her legs as she got closer. But then her blood turned cold as the door just ahead of her on the right, but a few metres ahead of her target opened. And the man who was once her boyfriend stepped out and blocked her path, an evil smile on his face.

"Looks like your in a hurry, what's the rush?" he asked slyly, as Liara stopped and breathed heavily, her eyes widening as fear began to take over.

"Shockblast, please...try to remember me." she said through the heavy breaths that she inhaled.

"She's trying that again?" a voice said from behind her as Six-shot appeared, meaning that both brothers now had her trapped.

"I know." Shockblast replied before looking at the Asari.

"Let me be crystal clear, I will never believe the lies that you are selling. Because the very thought of you aliens makes me sick to the core of my spark."

"Shockblast please..." Liara replied with a frantic tone.

"Enough!" he roared back before unleashing his claws and pouncing at her, determined to silence the Asari for good. But suddenly she began to glow with a blue hue, and Liara punched the air in front of Shockblast. The bot was knocked out of the air while in mid attack, and sent into the wall behind him.

"Shockblast" his younger brother called before he charged at the Asari.

"You'll pay for that!" he roared before being slammed into the ground by the Asari's next biotic attack. Then as both bots were dazed and attempting to recover themselves, Liara frantically looked around her.

_'I don't have time to send a distress call now.'_ she thought before her eyes fell on a door labelled  _'Escape pods'_. Knowing this was her only chance to get away, the Asari ran to the door and entered the room as both bots started to get back to their feet.

"We have to stop her." Shockblast grimaced as he limped to the door, Six-shot was following as fast as he could despite still being dazed. They both entered the room to see that Liara had already entered an escape pod, The bots tried to rip the hatch off of it's hinges as they stared daggers at the Asari. But suddenly the pod was disconnected from the ship, but before it could not the ground. It's engine fired and rocketed it up into the atmosphere, leaving the Icarus and it's dead crew to the bots. Both of them just looked out of the window and watched as the escape pod disappeared high above them.

"Well...scrap." Six-shot stated in an annoyed tone.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Everything was quiet on the bridge as Galvatron studied the holo-screens in front of him, while still seated in the Commander's chair. He used the keyboard interface that was positioned above his lap to go through a number of subjects in the ship's mainframe, and even though he did feel a little shame for not participating in the slaughter of the crew along with Shockblast and Six-shot. He did take solace in the fact that all the crew were now dead, considering that he had not heard any screaming coming from the corridors or over the ship's intercom. He looked over the ship's schematics when suddenly the screen to his left flashed up red, as an alarm blared.

' _Escape pod sixteen, launched from Starboard side of Icarus._ ' the screen stated in bold capitals.

"What!" he spat out loud just as the brothers appeared in the doorway.

"Ah...so you know." Shockblast said, gaining the Clone's attention has he stood up and turned to look at them.

"Tell me that no one was aboard that escape pod."

Both bots looked at each other, hoping that the other would speak up.

"One of you say something before I lose my patience!" Galvatron barked, snapping the silence from the brothers in two.

"Well, that Asari we encountered in the complex...she managed to get aboard this ship and...take that escape pod." Shockblast replied, making the clone narrow his red eyes at them.

"Are you saying that one member of this crew has managed to escape along with knowledge of us, knowledge that they will undoubtedly share with the Autobots?" he asked in a knowing and angry like tone as he looked down at them, making the brothers feel hat his shadow was cast over them.

"Galvatron...I..." Six-shot then said, only to be cut off by the clone.

"I don't want excuses..." he barked before he stopped when he heard a faint laughing echoing from behind him, making Galvatron turn to see who had the nerve to laugh at him. But no one was there, so he turned back to see two confused brothers staring at him.

"Galvatron?" Shockblast asked.

"It...was nothing." the Clone replied as he looked away for a second.

"You are lucky that I managed to deactivate the Com-system and distress beacon for each of the escape pods while I was browsing through the Icarus's systems. So that alien won't be able finding help coming to her aid any time soon... "

"Thank you Galvatron..." Six-shot replied before being cut off.

"...but that does not mean that I am willing to just let such a loose end carry on out there, I want to keep tabs on her whereabouts so that we can end her miserable life sooner rather than later." the clone added, making Shockblast activate his holo-tool.

"Of course, if you would indulge me Galvatron. I believe we could gain some extra eyes and ears out there in the galaxy, and not only find this alien but also give us Intel on how things are out there."

"And how would we accomplish this?" Galvatron asked.

"Not how...but who, here let me show you." the older or the two brothers said as the clone stood next to him and watched as he opened up a secure transmission link, typing in the name 'Shadow Broker'.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile Liara sat there and looked out of the small window on her right, her only view of the outside from the confining small interior of the escape pod in which she occupied. Liara had been crying since she had managed to escape the horror that had happened around her on Cybertron. After unleashing Galvatron, the Asari did not get much chance to take in what had happened, but now that she was alone and relatively safe, Liara just started crying as she thought about everyone who had been killed. But mainly because her then-boyfriend had been turned against her, now war nothing more than to end her life.

She didn't want to believe that the real Shockblast wasn't still in there somewhere, that if she just tried harder to get through to him then he would remember. But that line of thinking was just her being naive, because there was no way Galvatron would take a chance and just brainwash Shockblast and Six-shot and not make sure that their memories of everything prior his awakening had not been completely erased. Liara tried to stop herself from crying, wiping away the tears as they formed.

She then activated the holo-interface in front of her, trying to focus on something else...anything else so that she did not just wallow in pity. But thanks to some ingenuity from those who has tried to kill her, there was not much she could do with the escape pod's systems. The communication system had been deactivated, so no calling for help. And the pod's distress beacon was also not functioning, so she wouldn't be expecting anyone friendly to find her anyway. So she just looked out of the window at the empty void around her, the stars in the far distance twinkling as they burned millions of light years away. Another tear ran down her face as the view reminded Liara of her first kiss with Shockblast which was on the observation deck of the Icarus. The Asari was about to lose herself to her emotions again when suddenly the interface started beeping at her, this brought Liara to her senses as she typed on the controls and brought up the proximity sensors.

_'A ship, a ship has found me.'_  she thought with relief before the pod shook slightly as the unknown vessel began to bring it on board. The Asari looked out of the window at the hull of the ship, but did not recognise the markings. But her relief was short lived as soon as the pod was inside, she could see her surroundings were the cargo/shuttle bay which was full of containers of red sand (contraband) and empty cages with chains inside each, as well as shuttles bearing the mark of the slavers. Since the Asari was focused on looking outside of the window, her attention was snapped back to the pod's hatch as it was opened from the outside.

"Well now, this beauty will give us quite the payday now. Won't she boys." a Batarian in dirty grey armour said to the Vorcha in dirty yellow armour on his right (a lizard like alien), and also a Human in rusted black armour on his left.

"Yeah boss, she sure will. Asari always get a lot of bids at the market." the Human replied as he leered at Liara, which made her skin crawl.

"Alright, get out of there." the Batarian snapped at her, but instead of complying, the Asari charged her Biotics through her hands as she clenched them into fists.

"Biotics, look out!" the Human shouted before the Vorcha was flung into the air, only to land on top of a shuttle just aways from them.

"I got this." the Batarian replied as he equipped his blaster and shot Liara in the chest with an energy projectile, stunning the Asari who slouched back on the seat unconscious.

"Okay, get us a biotic clamp and then ready one of the cages for our guest." the Batarian said.

"Yes Captain." the Human replied before moving away, while the Captain then looked back at the sleeping beauty and smiled.

"So you've got some fire in you, I like that in a woman. But where your heading unfortunately, no one likes it." he said as he brushed his hand against her soft cheek.

"What a waste."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

It had been a few hours since they had massacred the crew of the Icarus, but Galvatron and Six-shot were still studying the ship's and Shockwave's databases while Shockblast was communing with the Shadow Broker via his holo-tool.

"Very well, I will await your next transmission." the Con said to a blacked out silhouette on the screen before the call cut short, prompting him to deactivate his holo-tool.

"So what is verdict, will this 'Shadow Broker' help us?" Galvatron asked as Shockblast turned to face them.

"Yes, 'he' will instruct his agents to keep an eye out for the alien..."

"Good, but I heard you agree to let them capture her for us." the Clone replied.

"Yes, but I kind of guessed that you will want us to kill her, once we have the alien's location.",Shockblast said back, earning a smile from Galvatron.

"Exactly, and we will kill the agents too. I certainly have no intention to owe anything to an Organic."

"Understood, we will have the alien soon enough." the Con replied.

"You mean Asari don't you?" Six-shot interrupted while staring at a data-screen.

"Come again?" his brother replied.

"Well it turns out that this 'Federation' is made up of many races, ones that we have already made contact with via this crew..." the younger Con said as he showed images of each race on his screen to the others.

"...Asari, Salarian, Turian, Human and interestingly Cybertronian. This particular species is our own, though they have been through a biological transformation. An energy wave that spread out across the galaxy and wiped out the 'Reapers' also changed them, made them more organic."

Galvatron gave both brothers a disgusted look as he looked at the screen.

"I find it insulting that our species are now as weak and fragile as the rest of the aliens that we have easily killed."

"I have to agree with you there." Shockblast replied.

"Well if we are going to get retribution for what has been done to us, we are going to need more help. I don't think that the three of us will be able to do much against an entire Federation." Six-shot stated which earned a smile from the clone, he then made the screen bigger, so that both brothers could see it.

"I think I have found just the thing." he said as the image of a dragon's head-like insignia appeared on the screen.

"What's that?" The younger bot asked.

"This is the icon for a prehistoric faction of Cybertronians called 'Predacons', who became extinct long before the Golden Age of our planet. According to the database, Shockwave was attempting to clone them from ancient remains that he found all over Cybertron, so that they could be used as an extra force against the Autobots during the war." the clone replied as images of the dragon-like Cybertronians appeared on screen.

"And Shockwave called this 'Project Predacon'." he added before Shockblast turned to him.

"How far did he get?"

"From what I have read, Shockwave managed to clone several of the beasts, but only four were ever cloned fully (spark and replica body). The others only had their Sparks cloned. We only need to gain access to the laboratory where this project was located." Galvatron replied before showing the two bots a screen with data coding running down it.

"Can you decipher this?" the Clone then asked Shockblast, earning a focused expression from the older of the two brothers before he shook his head.

"I don't think so, I believe the only way is with the original codes."

"Then let's go retrieve them." Galvatron replied, earning puzzled expressions from the bots.

"And how do we do that?" Six-shot asked.

"I have the location of Shockwave's body, found it in the ISF database. The details of his death are classified to the Autobots only, but it seems the location has become a favourite of archaeologists in the years since it happened." the clone said before deactivating the screen and turning round to the brothers.

"Shockblast open a ground-bridge to these coordinates and assist me with this task, Six-shot you will remain here and on the Icarus until we return."

Both bots nodded before Shockblast used his holo-tool to open a green vortex in front of himself and Galvatron, who then both entered it. Leaving Six-shot there on the bridge alone.

The ground-bridge vortex opened up and illuminated the large dark room with it's green hue before the two bots exited the event horizon and looked around at their surroundings. It looked just like the laboratories that Shockblast had already seen while on Cybertron except for one difference, one that caught his attention as he was just halfway through studying the room with his eyes. Lying on the ground only a few metres away was the corpse of a red and white armoured Cybertronian femme, her metal skin had rusted due to the eons that she had been there.

"Who's that?" the Con asked as he walked up to the giant corpse.

"I am not sure..." Galvatron replied as he looked away.

"...but this is why we are here." he added as he pointed to the far right, gaining Shockblast's attention. His eyes widened as he looked upon the massive corpse of Shockwave, which was lying upright against what looked like a blown out set of energy tanks. Just ahead of the body was the Decepticon's head which looked like it had been shot several times.

"That should hold the secrets we require." Galvatron said, relishing seeing the one who helped create him in this state.

"His neural net, are you sure we can access the data we seek from that?" Shockblast asked curiously.

"Well the only way we will find out is to take the memory core from Shockwave here, back to the complex's Pretender lab and download the memories via the cortical psychic patch." Galvatron replied, making the bot look at him in a confused state.

"One of us is going to interface with Shockwave's memory core?"

"Yes...you will Shockblast." the clone replied with a matter of fact expression.

"Why...me?"

"Because when I transferred your spark into the body you have now in order to save you, I saw a part of your memories on the screen during the transfer. It showed me that you have a thirst for knowledge, especially for that of the past...or should I say our species past." Galvatron replied, earning a nod from his companion.

"Yes, I know that I have forgotten certain things from before. But I know that I do like learning about the past."

Galvatron who had moved beside the dead Decepticon's head, then opened up a section of the head and reached inside. For a long moment, the Clone fiddled with it's interior before bringing his hands back out which held a strange looking blocky device.

"Behold, the memory core of Shockwave. Now open up a ground-bridge back to the complex and in a matter of time, the memories and knowledge of the most famous Decepticon scientist will be yours." he said as Shockblast stared wide eyed at the device.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Back at the complex, Shockblast was lying on an upright tilted mobile berth. Galvatron had connected the memory core to what looked like a cortical psychic patch, one that was redesigned for use by Pretender sized Cybertronians. He walked up to Shockblast's side with the other connector in his right hand.

"Now this will probably be unpleasant Shockblast, I will not hide that truth from you."

"I understand Galvatron, and I am ready anyway." the not replied before looking away from the clone, and exposing the back of his head.

"Very good, now brace yourself." the clone said before connecting the patch to the back of the bot's head, making Shockblast gasp as his mind suddenly overflowed with images and knowledge that were not his own. He was then went quiet and stared blankly at the wall to his right as the download continued. Then he began to fidget as flashes of a particular memory played out in front of him. He was looking down at two small beings, one was a woman in black and purple armour and the other was wearing a grey armour with red stripe (outlined in silver) running down both his shoulders and arms. He was holding what looked like the star saber and Shockblast watched as this man let loose an energy wave that slammed into him, making the bot grimace as he was knocked back into the tanks. And as the liquid from those busted tanks covered his being, he looked back at the pair and saw the female aiming her gun at him. She then fired and the next thing Shockblast felt was a great fire burning his entire body, causing him to scream out loud which surprised Galvatron who activated the automatic restraints, which stopped the bot from thrashing around. The last thing Shockblast could see and hear was the female.

"That was for Esmeral, you piece of scrap."

The memory then ended and the bot looked over to The Clone while taking a heavy breath.

"It was Jackson Prime and Airachnid who ended Shockwave's life."

Galvatron gave the bot a curious expression.

"Airachnid I have heard of.." he replied, remembering the femme from Megatron's memories that he possessed.

"But...who is Jackson Prime?"

Shockblast looked at him surprised.

"You don't know who he is? How can I remember him and not you?"

"The experiments performed on us must have effected our memories in different ways." the Clone replied, earning a nod from the bot, obviously buying the answer.

"Well he is the first Human Prime, a hero of the Reaper War from what I read. His actual name is Jack Darby."

Galvatron's eyes widened at the mention of that name, bringing back more of Megatron's memories to the forefront of his mind.

_'That Human pet of Arcee...a Prime, but how?'_ he thought before looking away from Shockblast.

"Galvatron?"

"This is not important right now." the Clone said back while looking over his shoulder.

"Do you now know how to access the Predacon lab?" he asked before deactivating the restraints. Shockblast then held his hand up to his forehead and closed his eyes for a moment.

"It's a little overwhelming, all these memories and knowledge in my mind. But yes I know where it is and how to enter it."

"Excellent, so where do we start?" Galvatron asked as the bot got off the berth and activated his holo-tool.

"Right here." he replied with a grin before the wall to their left disappeared, revealing a whole other lab.

"Holographic security field...interesting." the Clone remarked as the two walked into it.

"Well the mine that is connected to the lab behind us contains the remains of Predacons from hundreds of eons ago, before the golden age. Shockwave hypothesised that they were in what looked like a final battle with another faction of their race at the time of their extinction." Shockblast said as they looked at all the machinery around them.

"Wait, there was another faction?" Galvatron asked with a confused look.

"The site that this complex was built on contains the remains of more than just Predacons, but Shockwave believed that if this other faction (which he did not bother to learn the name of) were fighting the Predacons. Then they would have more in common with the Autobots, and Megatron would not be interested in them." the bot replied as they stopped at what looked like the main computer.

"I would agree with that outcome, so did they wipe each other out?" the clone asked.

"No, Shockwave believed that some kind of natural disaster was responsible for their extinction." Shockblast replied as he accessed the computer's database with his holo-tool.

Anyway, it seems that Shockwave was able to fully clone four of the Predacons."

Images of them then appeared on his holo-screen, a devious smile grew on Galvatron's face as he stared at each image.

"The first three were fully grown but never awoken, and the last was killed by the Dinobots. Shockwave then repaired the damage and placed 'her' in stasis lock." Shockblast replied.

Do we have enough Synthergon for these four beasts?" the clone asked, still studying each Predacon.

"We only have enough for three of them Galvatron. And it should be noted that Synthergon is still unstable when it comes to higher neural net functions." the Con said back.

"We won't need to worry about that, I want these three to be kept at minimal intelligence and also lock them into their beast modes completely." Galvatron replied.

"Of course Galvatron, with their size and power compared to modern Cybertronians and organics. They would be more effective in their more natural modes." Shockblast said.

"And there would be nothing more terrifying for our enemies than seeing giant dragons destroying everything they hold dear." the Clone said with restrained delight in his voice.

"Of course, I know some mind control techniques (curtsy of Shockwave's knowledge) that will ensure that these great Beasts remain loyal to our cause." the bot said back.

"Excellent, now what about the Predacon that we can't activate as it is'" Galvatron asked while pointing to the Femme-Dragon on screen."

"Well I think that we can transfer her spark into one of the prototype Pretender bodies here."

"You mean there was more than just the three we have?" the Clone asked in surprise.

"Yes, Shockwave has a fully functional processing plant here that can mass produce them. We can build enough for the remaining Predacon sparks that he cloned, as well as the Terracons." Shockblast replied with a smile.

"Other sparks? Terracons?" Galvatron asked with a wide eyed look. The other bot responded by bringing up a screen that showed all of the Predacons that were cloned.

"Shockwave may have only fully cloned four of the beasts, but he was successful in cloning the sparks of all the remains he had found."

"And these Terracons?"

"They were a sub-group of Predacon, not unlike the Decepticon Vehicons. Mainly cannon fodder for the more powerful among their faction." the bot explained.

"Well then, let's see it done. And Shockblast, when you have transferred their sparks into their new bodies and make sure they are loyal to me." Galvatron said, earning a nod from the other bot who brought up the details of the femme on his screen.

"Galvatron, it seems that this Femme was the first Predacon to be cloned, and that Shockwave blended the wiped-clean neural net of a Decepticon volunteer to give her increased intelligence. This was to remedy the problem with bringing back the prehistoric creatures and not having to deal with their less evolved minds."

"I see, do you think that we should keep her mind the way it is?"

"Yes I do, I can also make a copy of her neural net's layout and program the others (Predacon pretenders) to be the same. That way, we will have the Predacons ferocity. But also benefit from the increased intelligence that we, their descendants have (while not directly linked)." Shockblast further explained.

"I see what you mean, have the best of both worlds in one package. The ferocity of the ancient past, and the ingenuity of the here and now." Galvatron replied, earning a smile and nod from Shockblast.

"Exactly."

"Well then, let's get on with it. I find this very intriguing." the Clone replied, as Shockblast activated the labs machines, including all the hyper-evolution tanks and stasis pods in the room connected to theirs which went on for miles. This included three massive tanks that contained three mechanical dragons that twitched slightly as their bodies began to come out of stasis.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

A few days had passed since their discovery on Cybertron as Galvatron waited for Shockblast to finish the awakening of the Predacon clones that they found. The clone of Megatron was at the main computer of the project Predacon lab, studying It's database with his holo-tool. He was distracted from it by the opening of a ground bridge vortex nearby as Six-shot stepped through.

"Nothing new to report Galvatron." the young Con stated.

"That is good to hear Six-shot, now if we can only hear how the progress is going with your Brother." the clone replied.

"He is in there alone?" the Con said back as he pointed to the heavy door between them and his brother.

"Yes, after about a day Shockblast claimed that he 'works better alone' and so locked himself inside. Apparently I was distracting his focus with my questions." Galvatron replied with a less than enthusiastic tone.

"Well that's out of character for him, I've known my Brother my entire life and he has never been the solitary type. I mean he does like not to be disturbed while working, but never completely on his own."

"Well..." Galvatron started to say when he was cut off by the large heavy door opening up and revealing Shockblast who was standing there in the doorway.

"Hey, why were you in there on your own?" Six-shot asked.

"I always work better alone." his Brother replied, earning a confused look from the younger Con. Shockblast though ignored this and turned his attention to Galvatron.

"The clones are ready and I have also updated their neural nets with the data to help them adapt to the times that they are now in."

"Very good Shockblast, now before we go in there. You should both have these connected to your armour." the clone replied as he held out two objects to the brothers, which they both took and looked at. The objects were Predacon insignia's.

"Galvatron, I don't understand." Six-shot said back with confusion written all over his face.

"Well I wasn't about to resurrect the Decepticons, as they failed in their goals and so are not worth the effort. But together we can lead the Predacons to surpass the Decepticons and crush those who stand against us. And besides, we have the same beast modes as they do now." Galvatron replied as he showed them the insignia on the chest plate of his armour, finally feeling like he had a place in the world.

"Agreed." Shockblast replied as he clipped the insignia to the center of his chest-plate, Six-shot nodded and clipped his own on to his left shoulder armour.

"Now let's welcome our new brothers and sisters to the family." Galvatron said with a smile as he and the two bots walked into the next room.

The massive room was dimly lit, the only illumination coming from the hyper-evolution tanks with their yellow liquid glowing gently against the dark around them. Shockblast took a step ahead of Galvatron and activated his holo-tool, using it to drain the liquid from the tanks and reveal the Predacons inside. The clone and Six-shot took a look at each tank. There were six pretender sized tanks and three massive ones lined up behind them, two of the smaller tanks held what looked like females while the rest were all male.

"How long until the Terracons are ready?" Galvatron asked, gaining the older brother's attention.

"The first batch are still being developed, I felt that having the main Predacons birthed first would be more…..logical."

Galvatron nodded, but the last word out of Shockblast's mouth earned a raised eye brow from Six-shot. But before he could voice his concern, he was cut off by Shockblast tapping another button on his holo-tool. Which caused the cables and tubes that were connected to each Predacon to disconnect. Then the tanks opened up as their inhabitants opened their eyes and slowly stepped out side. Galvatron then took a step towards the clones.

"Welcome my Brothers...and Sisters." he said with a dark grin, while looking at the Human looking Cons. Each one looked at Galvatron with an unsure look, but as soon as they eyes fell upon the Predacon insignia on his chest-plate, they then seemed to relax.

"Please tell me your names." he added. A Caucasian woman with shoulder length black hair, wearing green and yellow armour which complemented her athletic figure stepped forward.

"My name is Ser-Ket." she replied before the short haired woman next to her, who was slightly more built and wearing light blue and red armour stepped forward.

"I am Ripclaw." she stated earning a nod from Galvatron before looking at the males.

"I am Lazerback." said the dark skinned man wearing yellow and red armour.

"I am Blight." the blue and white armoured man said.

"My name is Scorponok." the yellow and purple armoured Asian man stated. Galvatron smiled at each one before approaching the last man who was wearing dark blue armour with a purple neon glow at it's joints. He just stared at Galvatron.

"And what is..." he began to say before the Predacon cut him off.

"Who are you?"

This took Galvatron by surprise, but he kept his cool while locking eyes with the Predacon before then addressing the rest of them.

"I am Galvatron, leader of the Predacons. and your Lord and Master." he said aloud before looking back at that one again.

"Scourge only has one master...Predaking." Scourge replied with anger in his tone.

"Well even though Predaking is with us..." Galvatron answered and as if on cue, a tremendous roar could be heard echoing from further down the massive, long chamber they were in, making the other Predacons look around and whisper to each other.

"...he is in no shape to command the Predacons, so since it was my Lieutenants and I..." Galvatron added while gesturing to both Shockblast and Six-shot.

"...who found and reawakened you, then it is I who will lead you."

Scourge gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at the self proclaimed leader as he clenched his fists.

"Only the strongest among us can be our Leader, and since Predaking is no longer fit to do so. I then nominate myself to take his place. For I am stronger than this Pretender in front of me."

Galvatron grinned and stepped back while gesturing to Scourge.

"Enough words, attack me and prove your claim to be true."

The Predacon then lunged at him, but Galvatron caught his punch and then twisted his arm. Scourge grimaced before he was then thrown into the nearby wall. The Predacon leader merely smirked as his attacker climbed back to his feet.

"Do you still wish to fight?"

But Scourge felt his anger take control and suddenly his body began to change, as the Predacons looked on in shock and awe at what Scourge was becoming. The three bots all knew what this was.

_'He looks more powerful now.'_ Galvatron thought to himself as he readied himself for another attack.

_'But I have to defeat him without using my own beast mode to prove my strength is above all of theirs. Since they are still mainly a group of beasts and so only follow the strongest among them.'_

As Scourge scrapped his sharp class against the wall, cleaving off concrete as easily as knife through butter, Shockblast was taking readings of the Predacon change.

Six-shot leaned in and whispered into his brother's ear, not wanting the Predacons to hear.

"Err...their beast modes seem more feral and primal than ours."

"That is because they used to be beasts, the alt mode in these prototype Pretender-forms allows them to tap into that part of themselves. With us it only enhances our strength through our anger, for them it is the closest they will get to being their old selves." Shockblast replied just as Scourge finished his transformation. His frame had become more muscular and his face looked slightly more beast like (other than his eyes and teeth). He then looked directly at Galvatron and gritted his extremely sharp teeth.

"I will tear you limb from limb." he screamed before lunging at the Predacon Leader. But even though he was now smaller than his attacker, Galvatron was the quicker as he ducked under the attack and punched hard into into his opponent's chest. But this did not even faze the beast, who merely swiped Galvatron and knocked him to the ground, leaving slash marks on his chest plate.

"I will eat you and use your bones to pick my teeth with." Scourge then said as he opened his mouth and moved in closer. But Galvatron could feel his anger building but instead focused it from activating his beast mode and suddenly as the beast went to bite the Predacon leader, he noticed the bot's eyes glow purple before he grabbed Scourge's head and ripped his jaw off. His opponent bellowed in pain as a severally pissed off Galvatron then kicked at the beast's leg, snapping it in two and making Scourge fall to his knees. As blood like fluid ran down his neck and chest from the open sound that used to be his mouth, the challenger looked up at Galvatron who stood over him.

"Nobody will defeat Galvatron." he spat before plunging his fist (which had a faint purple glow to it) through Scourge's head, killing him instantly. The whole room went silent as the body of the Predacon fell on it's side, soon surrounded by its own blood. Every one of thr Predacons looked at the one who defeated their comrade as Galvatron took a breath before turning round to them, his eyes narrowing as he looked at each of them.

"Does anybody wish to join him?"

The room still remained silent, you could hear a spark beat in there before Lazerback decided to speak.

"What did you say your name was?"

the Predacon leader smiled at the question.

"Galvatron!"

The rest of the Predacons looked at each other for a second before suddenly and all together cheering.

"All hail Galvatron, ALL HAIL GALVATRON!"

As their voices echoed through out the complex , they were joined by the roars of the three Predacons that had yet to be revealed. Galvatron merely smiled and accepted the cheers of those around him, for he now had his army and soon all the stood before them would be sent to the pit.

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

One month later...

On the planet Zorya, on a ridge overlooking a valley covered in jungle. A Turian in red and black armour is lying on his stomach, and looking through the sniper's scope of his rifle at what looks like a military installation in the valley's center. The heat and humidity was high for this planet with it's tropical climate, the Turian found it quite nice though his team mates would probably complain. His com link then activated, gaining his attention while he followed one of the soldiers that has had walking the perimeter for the last hour through his scope.

"Shen report, how's it look on your side?" an experienced and commanding voice asked over the link.

"Rodimus, it's no different now than it was an hour ago. This place doesn't seem to have a weak point that we can take advantage of." Shen replied.

"I am having the same trouble here on the north side, two soldiers patrolling the perimeter."

"Yeah I spotted two soldiers on the south side , one has gone out of view but I know he is there." the young Turian replied as he zoomed out enough to see the whole side installation.

"I can also make out two towers, one at the south east and one at the north east. They are both unmanned, but what I can see are heat and motion sensors directed to the ground surrounding the outskirts of the perimeter." he added before moving his rifle enough to see a blonde Caucasian man in gold and red armour on the north side of the valley looking down with a pair of small binoculars.

"Yeah I can see the same setup on this side too, whoever took over this site after the Blue Suns left (to join Omega) over a decade ago certainly wasted no time in upgrading it's defences." Rodimus replied with a breath as wiped some sweat off his brow.

"you alright Rodimus?" Shen asked.

"Yeah, just trying to adjust to this heat that's all." the bot replied, earning a chuckle from the Turian.

"What?"

"Oh you think you have it bad, spare a thought for Orion and Nightracer while they trek through the jungle."

Rodimus could not help but smirk as he turned his attention and binoculars to the road that led up to its main entrance, but unfortunately was barely visible due to the thick jungle in that area. He then tapped his com-link.

"Nightracer report, what is yours and Orion's position."

Meanwhile making their way through the dense foliage towards the installation were two Caucasian people, a young woman with black hair with light brown highlights wearing black and light blue armour. She also had a Phanix pistol connected to her waist via a light blue utility belt and an Avenger assault rifle attached to her back. The other person was a man of the same age, he had blue hair with black highlights and was wearing silver and blue armour. He had his own avenger rifle in his hands, leaving the pistol (same as the woman's) attached to his waist via a black utility belt. The two stopped and knelt behind a fallen tree to catch their breath and take a sip of water from the canteen they had, the man then wiped the sweat off his forehead while the female peeked over it to see the perimeter fence of the installation, as well as it's main entrance. She then looked back at the man and smiled.

"Orion Darby, and here I remember you saying that 'you never sweat'."

The blue haired man shook his head in response.

"Nightracer, I said I would never let my enemies see me sweat...but luckily there are none that are here right now." he replied between sips from the canteen, which made the Femme smile.

"Well I won't tell anyone, and I don't think that this situation should count anyway, considering the current climate we are in right now."

"Appreciate that." Orion replied before Nightracer's com-link activated.

"Nightracer report, what is yours and Orion's position."

"Rodimus, we are only a hundred meters out from the entrance. But I can see at least three soldiers standing guard there, we can take out two of them. But unless you can do anything about the third, we won't be getting in on this side either." she replied before looking at the man who had his attention elsewhere.

"Orion? What is it?"

"Has anyone even noticed those?" he replied before pointing over to the trucks heading down a dirt road that split off from the main road to the installation.

"I wonder where they are going?" she replied.

"What is it you two?" Rodimus asked.

"We have just spotted some trucks that don't seem to be heading to the main entrance Rodimus." Orion replied.

"There may be another entrance that we were not aware of, I think Nightracer and I should check it out." he added before smiling at the Femme, it was a smile that would still energize her spark even now.

"Okay, Check it out. But remember they sent out a gunship patrol only thirty minutes ago and they will be back soon, so if we are going to do this then it has to be sooner than that. Remember our objectives are to find out who runs this Mercenary operation, what they are doing here and then shut it down...by any means necessary." " Rodimus replied.

"Will do, Orion out." the young man said before deactivating his com-link, he then looked back to the Femme and took a heavy breath as he wiped his forehead again.

"Well, lady's first."

Nightracer just sighed and shook her head before checking that the coast was clear, and then took the lead as they both began heading in the direction that the trucks went.

The pair followed the road for another several minutes, making sure to keep to the cover of the jungle and staying off the road.

The pair waded through the foliage before Nightracer stopped at the sounds of engines running, and knelt down with her weapon ready, Orion mirroring her. The bot watched as the Femme equipped her binoculars and scanned the area ahead through the trees. What she saw was a whole line of trucks all queuing to enter another guarded entrance, that was shielded by the dense jungle around it. Nightracer then passed her binoculars to Orion who took a look while she tapped her com-link.

"I think we may have found our way in." he replied, earning a nod from the femme who tapped her com-link.

"Rodimus, We have found an auxiliary entrance into the installation and it doesn't seem as well protected as the main one." she said while panting a little, earning a laugh from Shen who was listening.

"Find this funny Shen?" Nightracer said, which earned Orion's attention as he looked up from the binoculars.

"Hell yes I do, I think it's karma coming back to bite you guys in the ass." the Turian replied. Orion then tapped his com-link and joined the conversation.

"You still mad about that time Nightracer and I sabotaged the heating in your quarters?"

"You know Turians don't like the cold Orion, consider this your just desert." Shen replied with a chuckle at the end.

"I think he is due for another prank Orion." the Femme replied while wiping the sweat of her own brow.

"Okay, cut the chatter guys. I know you three have known each other forever, but lets save this until after we complete the mission. Now where is this secondary entrance?" Rodimus asked as he cut them off.

"Well guessing from your vantage point, I would say that it would be in the area where the jungle is at it's most dense. Hence the reason you guys couldn't see it from any spot above ground level." Nightracer replied.

"Plus with the heat and humidity at the levels where they are, no one would be able to make out the second entrance with the thermal sensors either." Orion added.

"So, give me a visual description of what you see at the entrance." Rodimus replied as Orion looked back through the binoculars.

"I see only two soldiers standing there, one is checking the trucks while the other keeps an eye out."

"Tell me about the trucks?" the group leader said back.

"They are heavily armoured, unmarked trucks and..." the young man replied as he turned his attention to the driver's cabin of one, noticing that it had no driver.

"... They have no drivers, they are automated."

Nightracer then tapped Orion on the shoulder.

"Look over there on the road, see it?" she said as she pointed, making him look to where she was gesturing. What he saw was a dip in the road, that was large enough for a person to get under what ever was driving over it. Orion then looked back at the Femme with a disbelieving expression.

"You want to wait in that small dip and grab your self a lift on the undercarriage of one of the trucks, and ride it into the installation?"

Nightracer merely nodded with a smile at him.

"Yes, it's the only way in that I can find. Unless you can think of another way?" she replied playfully, earning an eye roll from him as he sighed.

"...no, I don't have anything better."

The Femme smiled as she placed hand to her com-link.

"Rodimus..." she started to say, but then the bot cut her off.

"Yes, you have a go. And you better make it fast, because Shen says there is another convoy heading up the main road."

"Alright, let's do it." she said as the last truck drove around the corner and out of view, the pair then got to their feet, ran to the open road and got into the dip, crouching down enough so that the vehicles would not hit the pair as they drove over.

"Here's my ride." Nightracer joked as the truck drove over them and she grabbed on to the underside of it, pulling herself up while Orion shook his head and smiled as the vehicle carried on.

_'Show off.'_ he thought before turning his attention to the next vehicle and by copying the femme, hitched a ride on it's undercarriage as it passed over. The convoy then drove up to the secondary entrance and came to a stop, while both Nightracer and Orion held on to the underside of their respective trucks. Both stayed very quiet and still as one of the soldiers guarding the gate mere meters away, activated his com-link.

"Hey boss, the last convoy is here."

"Alright, once they are inside I want you to lock-down the perimeter. I want nothing in or out...understand?" a slightly stressed voice spoke on the other side of the link.

"Yes boss, alright let them through." the soldier said to his colleague who activated his holo-tool and opened the gate, allowing the trucks to move again and enter the Installation's grounds.

As the trucks all parked up outside one of the buildings in the compound, which was surrounded by large metal shipping containers, Shen was keeping his sniper scope firmly locked on the convoy as he saw both Orion and Nightracer get out from under the vehicles and meet up behind on of the containers.

"We are in." The Femme said into her com-link.

"I can confirm that Rodimus." Shen added as the pair kept out of view of the merc soldiers that were nearby.

"Good work, but now you need to find the control room for the installation's security grid and shut it down. So that Shen and myself can enter." Rodimus replied as Nightracer activated her holo-tool, which brought up a map of the base.

"Right so going off this old map of the place from when it was the Blue Suns HQ, the control room should be in this building to our left" she gestured to Orion who took a sneak look from behind their cover to see the building in question.

"There are quite a few soldiers between us and the target, but it shouldn't be a problem." he replied with a wink.

"Alright, good luck." Rodimus said before the link deactivated, leaving the pair alone again. Nightracer equipped her pistol, making sure to activate it's silencer mode and Orion equipped his own before taking another look, noticing that the two soldiers were closest to them had their backs turned.

"Let's go."

The pair then silently moved past both mercs and used the containers on their left as cover, before checking that the coast was clear and doing the same again. Slowly and patiently moving around the cargo containers towards the building, being sure not to catch the attention of the numerous soldiers patrolling the area.

After sneaking through the cargo area, Nightracer and Orion made it to the door of the building. And while the Femme used her holo-tool to hack the lock, while Orion kept an eye out for any mercs with his rifle at the ready.

"How long do you think it will take?" the Bot asked as he heard footsteps coming from the other side of one of the cargo containers just aways from them.

"This Security program is not very effective, my holo-tool is breaking through every encryption it ... there we go." the Femme replied as they heard the lock click before the door itself opened for them. Orion smiled before looking back at the cargo container, noticing some shadows appearing on the ground from behind it.

Okay, let's go." he replied as the door opened and he checked for enemies, but the corridor was empty so they both walked inside with their weapons ready.

The interior of the building was dimly lit but cooler than it was outside, which came as a relief to Orion as he enjoyed the milder temperature as the pair made their way down a corridor, while following Nightracer's directions. The Femme was wearing a piece of headgear that emitted a holo-interface over her right eye, which at this moment showed Nightracer the map of the installation and their location within it.

_'To bad it doesn't show enemy locations, but then again this isn't a video game. Wouldn't want to have things too easy now.'_ Orion thought as they continued forward. After walking around for a few minutes, avoiding the soldiers that were patrolling the building's interior. Nightracer suddenly stopped ahead of Orion, the young man mirroring her as she gestured to the door just in front of them.

"The control room is right behind the door and I am sure that it won't be unmanned." the Femme said back as she looked back at him.

"Doesn't matter, the others are depending on us." Orion replied, earning a nod from her in return. Together they both then took positions at either side of the door, Nightracer took a breath and gave her partner one more look before Orion took the signal and hit the control panel next to him. Which opened the door a and revealed that there were three soldiers in the control room. Thee was one sitting at the main terminal and two others, one at either side of the room. The opening of the door caught their attention as they turned to see who was about to enter, but no one was there.

"That's strange." one said to the others, as the soldier using the terminal looked at the other.

"Check it out."

The third soldier nodded and began walking towards the doorway, but as soon as he began to head through it...

"Ugh!" he let out a grunt as he flinched and stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong?" the other soldier said as he started for his comrade, but then suddenly the one in the doorway was pushed back into the room and knocked his friend to the floor as Nightracer and Orion rushed in behind them. The soldier at the doorway began reaching for the panic button at the side of the terminal, but the Femme noticed him and shot the enemy through the head with her pistol, splattering his brains all over the screen.

"I don't think so." she retorted as the other soldier managed to push his dead comrade off himself and grab his gun, only for Orion to silence him with two shots to his chest. The young man then closed the door as Nightracer activated her holo-tool and connected it to the terminal wirelessly.

"Alright I am in the system and have set the perimeter defences to shut down in two minutes, better alert Rodimus and Shen." she said to Orion who nodded and tapped his com-link.

"Rodimus, defences will be down in two minutes."

"Alright then, Shen and I will start for the installation now. In the meantime you two are to hold position and await our arrival." the Bot replied over the link.

"I think we will be okay for a few minutes in here at least, see you then when you get here." Orion replied before closing the link and looking back at Nightracer, who was looking through the Mercs database.

"They are on their way, so have you found anything interesting in there?"

"Well I can now name this merc group, they are called 'Death Skulls'. A group made up of mercs that left Omega, seems they weren't happy with how Aria was running their combined forces." Nightracer replied.

"Who would have thought it, so the grass really isn't greener on the other side of the fence. Is there any information on what they are doing here?" the young man said back. The Femme nodded and brought up a few images of a mining complex and a space port.

"Seems that these 'Skulls' are smuggling 'Red Sand' through Zorya's space ports and using this base as a distribution centre."

Orion shook his head in disbelief.

"really... Their just drug smugglers. and here I was hoping for something more."

"They are using a planet on the edge of Federation space to distribute Red sand through out our space, also the Skulls are siphoning a large portion of this planet's mineral resources for themselves. And since this is without any bloodshed, that would mean that they have connections within Zorya's government." the Femme said.

"Well, it's a good job then that we 'Spectres' are on the case then, isn't it." Orion replied, earning a smile from her.

"It sure is."

Nightracer then looked back at the screen with a far away look, which did not go unnoticed by Orion.

"Ni, what is it?"

The Femme looked back at him with surprise in her expression.

"You realise it has been a good while since you last called me that."

"Yeah, but I figured why end the habit of a lifetime. After how long we have known each other. I am still surprised that we...you, Shen and I are now working on the same team. All we need is 'Quickstrike' back and the whole band is back together." the young man replied.

"Well since we are talking about the past right now...which in the middle of a mission is a bit of distraction by the way..." the Femme said back, earning a shrug from Orion.

"Are 'we' still good? I mean how we left things back when we joined the academy several years back."

Orion simply smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder affectionately.

"...the best, your still important to me Ni. Even though we are no longer... You know."

She simply smiled and nodded back.

"Yeah, well its good to have you here. I feel a lot better having you watch my back."

"Ditto." Orion replied before a beeping sound took his attention from the Femme.

"What is it?" she asked as he started to look around.

"You hear that?"

"Yeah...it's coming from..." Nightracer replied as she looked up and gasped, Orion mirrored her and they both saw a small holo-orb hovering above them, just outside the open vent.

"A recon drone!" Orion stated before putting a bullet through the orb, disrupting it's program. Causing it to crash as alarms started blaring out around the installation.

"Looks like they know we are here..." he said as he moved towards the door.

"...do you have your 'Personal Cloak' on you?"

"Yes, why?" the Femme replied with a puzzled look.

"I will head out of here and draw their attention away from you. Now they will still check this room, but since you will be cloaked then they won't find anything." Orion replied as he opened the door and heard lots of footfalls getting closer.

"No, we can face them together." Nightracer said back as she readied her weapon, only for the bot to stop her.

"Stay here and once the mercs are gone, meet up with the others and find me. I'll have my beacon switched on."

"Orion!" the Femme said back with mix of anger and worry, but he stepped outside and fired at the mercs as they ran found the corner, forcing them to take cover.

"Be safe." he said back to her without looking, not wanting to give the mercs any hints before running in the opposite direction. The enemies charged after him as the femme activated her cloak only seconds before they ran past the door. With only two stopping and looking in to find an empty room, before following the others.

_'Damn you Orion.'_ she thought to herself.

"Nightracer, Orion report. Why has the alarms gone off?" Rodimus's voice suddenly filled the air as the femme's com-link went off.

Orion felt the pressure as he ran down the corridor, being sure to fire a few bursts of bullets at the mercs chasing him and causing them to take cover, there fore allowing him to gain some distance from them. He then turned a corner and ran up some stairs to find two mercs (helmeted) there waiting for him at the top.

"End of the line." one said as the Bot came to a stop in front of them.

"Drop your weapon and put your hands up." the other added, as Orion began to comply by holding his weapon at both ends which earned an almost relaxed posture from the pair, but then the young bot smiled.

"Think fast!" he said as he threw his avenger rifle at one merc, causing him to drop his own weapon so that he could catch the other. The second merc looked over to his comrade as Orion then roundhouse kicked his weapon out of his hands and then performed another roundhouse into the enemy's helmet, knocking him to the ground. The first merc suddenly pointed the avenger rifle that Orion had thrown to him at the bot and pulled the trigger, but it did not fire which confused the merc before he saw Orion smirking at him.

"I left the safety on." he said in an honest and almost helpful tone, making the merc look down at the rifle before all he saw was a foot to his face as Orion kicked him in the face and then grabbed and threw him over his shoulder. The merc fell down the stairs and hit the soldiers trying to get up them, knocking one over and blocking the rest. Orion just smiled back at them before carrying on through the door and down the connected corridor. He must have made several turns down the corridors before making one final turn and stopping with a huff, as he realised he had hit a dead end.

"Damn it."

He was about to back track when he heard footfalls approaching, mentally kicking himself for not carrying a map on his person, unlike Nightracer. So with the soldiers approaching fast, the young bot turned to face them and get ready for a fight as he equipped his pistol. But then the sound of metal rolling across the floor caught his attention and he looked down to see a grenade stop at his feet.

"Oh crap." Orion muttered to himself before the grenade exploded and enveloped him in white light, which also had the effect of knocking him unconscious.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Orion could feel his feet being dragged while also feeling strain on his arms, meaning that he was probably being carried by two soldiers in an upright position at this moment. His head was throbbing and his eyes were stinging, but he managed to open them slightly. The light felt as blinding as the flash grenade that was used against him earlier, 'should have remembered to look away.' he mentally kicked himself for that as the bot tried to look at his surroundings, which were dimly lit but still familiar.

' _Still in the same place then...thank god for that._ ' he thought as he saw that they entered another room which was large in size, and also had a second level that over looked them.

"What is this?" an unrecognizable voice said, getting the bot's attention as he looked in front of him and saw a Batarian standing in front of several other mercs, all wearing the black armour.

"Solem, we caught one of the intruders. You said to bring them to you." the soldier on Orion's right said, earning a confused look from the leader as all four of his eyes stared at them blankly.

"I did...oh yes I did, sorry but I have so much going on right now." Solem replied before turning his attention to the Prisoner.

"So you are one of the two that was digging through our database, where is your companion?"

The two soldiers stood beside Orion, helping him onto his own feet as he was still feeling the effects of the flash-stun grenade. But he managed to stand up and looked at the Batarian, a confused expression on his face.

"What?" he said back, earning a punch to the face from Solem.

"Where is she? We saw her with you on or security-feed." the Leader spat back, as one of the soldiers next to him brought up a still image of the two intruders together.

"Oh...that, that was nothing. Just a hologram of my exe-girlfriend..." Orion replied as he looked Solem in the eyes.

"...I get lonely.." he added with a sarcastic tone, this only infuriated the Batarian more as he then backhanded the bot in the face and then punched him in the stomach.

"Any more of this garbage..." he said before pulling out a combat knife for Orion to see.

"...and I will slit your throat and feed you to my Varren."

Meanwhile Nightracer was waiting by an open junction box in a room not far from her captured team-mate's location, checking her holo-tool when a Death Skull merc appeared next to her. She turned with her pistol ready but was surprised to see that he was just standing there, until he fell to his knees and then face first to the floor. She noticed a smoking bullet wound in his back.

"How many times do I have to save your ass Nightracer?" Shen replied from above, earning a smile and a wink from the femme as she looked up at him on the second level.

"Well it is nice ass, huh?" she replied with a flirt-like tone, only for the Turian to shake his head with a half smile.

"I'm the wrong person to ask that."

"Thanks for the assist, but I knew he was there anyway." the Femme said back.

"Right..." Shen replied knowingly, as the sound of a body hitting the metallic floor nearby got their attention. Rodimus then appeared next to the Turian and looked down at Nightracer.

"That was the last merc in our immediate area, what is going on with Orion?"

The Femme gestured to her com-link.

"He has had it on active since we separated, sounds like they have taken him straight to the mercs Leader."

"Any mention of a name?" the bot asked back.

"They called him...Solem."

A surprised expression then appeared on Rodimu's face at mention of that name.

"Solem...Solem Dal'serah, the former Leader of the Blue Suns." he replied.

"Didn't he take over after Vido Santiago died before Zaeed Masani joined Jackson Prime on the mission against the Quintessons?" Shen asked, earning a nod from Rodimus.

"That's right, he lead them until Aria T'Loak unified all the major merc groups under her banner. I wonder why he jumped ship..."

Nightracer put her hand up to her com-link and listened for a moment, before looking up at both of them with a worried expression.

"I think Orion needs us now."

His sides were aching somewhat from all he punches he had received in the last few moments, even through the armour Orion was wearing. This Batarian was a strong son of a bitch, which only made the Bot look forward to when he could fight back. Solem noticed the smug look appearing on the blue haired bot's face and gritted his teeth at him.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, just how dead you guys will be in another moment or so." Orion gloated with a lukewarm tone and grin (after hearing the others on his com-link). This suddenly made all the mercs, Solem included burst out laughing.

"And...what makes you think that?" the Batarian leader asked back disbelievingly.

"Oh, I have friends in 'high places'." the bot replied while above everyone, Rodimus and Shen took up positions on the second level. And still unknown to them, Nightracer had sneaked into the room using her personal cloak and hid behind a large container.

"Yes we know, where is sh...!" Solem asked, his tone even angrier than before, but he stopped when he noticed something. It was something he should have noticed at the beginning as he looked at the insignia on Orion's chest-plate. It was an Autobot icon with a wing on either side of it, the very sight of it made Solem's blood boil even more.

"The Autobots! For fuck's sake. First it was Aria and her Omega shit, and now this." the Batarian shouted out as he turned away and kicked over a container, gaining his men's attention.

"I manage to break away and start afresh, only for the Federation to stick it's noses in my business... Fuck!" he shouted again before looking back at Orion, a sly grin appearing on his face.

"Well I think it is time for us to send them a message."

Solem then put away the combat knife and instead equipped his pistol, before walking over to Orion and aiming point blank range at his head.

"I am going to blow your fucking brains out and then send your body back to the Federation, a warning that the same fate should be expected of any Autobots that are found messing in my business."

Orion simply smiled, which made Solem narrow his eyes at the bot.

"You still think you can win this?"

Orion merely smiled at him, but Solem shook his head and tightened his grip on the trigger, pulling it back slowly.

"Time to die..."

Orion simply winked back at the Batarian, but he was not the only person who saw the wink as Shen looked down at them through his scope.

"Got you covered." he said before aiming for a fuel drum in the far corner of the large room, he then pulled the trigger.

"...Autobot." Solem finished say just as the fuel drum exploded, startling all the mercs. Orion saw this as his chance as he broke free of the two soldiers holding his arms and kicked Solem in the stomach, the Batarian falling to his knees while the bot turned his attention to the soldiers either side of him. The rest of the mercs then saw what was happening and raised their weapons only for two of them to suddenly be one riddled with bullets, as Rodimus and Nightracer revealed themselves and continued to fire on the mercs who were instantly on the defensive. The soldier on Orion's right grabbed him by his arms and tried to hold him in place as the other pulled out a knife, but the bot simply head butted the one behind him who released him. Orion blocked the merc in front of him and disarmed him easily, before back handing the enemy in the face and then without looking stabbed the other behind him. At this point Solem had recovered and was back on his feet, his four eyes wide as he watched his men being killed by the group. His vision then fell on Orion who was at this moment pushing the combat knife into the chest of the soldier in front of him.

"I will kill you, you Autobot scum." Solem raged as he lunged at the bot, knife in hand as Orion looked in his direction. Meanwhile Nightracer fired a burst of bullets into one of the mercs, blood flowing freely from the wounds as the enemy fell backwards into some canisters, she then turned to see another attack her with a holo-blade, so she brought up her rifle and just stopped it mere centimetres from her face. Rodimus and Shen were just about finished from their vantage points before the Turian noticed the Nightracer's predicament.

"Nightracer!" he shouted before taking aim with his sniper rifle at the merc's head, but when he pulled the trigger...nothing happened.

_'Damn, I'm out of bullets'_ he thought while down below, Orion was in the middle of a tussle with Solem as he blocked one of the Batarian's punches. He had heard the Femme's name being called and took a look behind him after connecting a punch with the merc Leader's face. His eyes widened when he saw Nightracer barely holding the merc's blade from her face. So Orion turned back to Solem who lunged again at him, but the bot narrowed his eyes at the Batarian. He had to end this now, so he grabbed the Leader's arm and pulled him into a headlock. Solem tried to struggle but then Orion squeezed around the Batarian's neck and snapped it before dropping the dead merc leader on the floor. He then turned to his friend and threw the knife which flew through the air before embedding itself in the merc's back, who let Nightracer go and seized up as he tired to reach for the knife before finally succumbing to his fate and falling dead to the floor. The Femme looked over to Orion who had big grin on his face.

"I thought you were here to rescue me." he said in a chuffed tone.

"You can't expect a girl to do everything around here, can you?...but thanks for the save." Nightracer replied with a smile.

"Hey what about me, you just going to ignore the Turian who watched all your backs?" Shen called down from the second level, gaining Nightracer's attention as she put her hands on her hips and looked up at him.

"That depends, where were you when I needed help back there?"

The Turian simply showed them his sniper rifle and pointed at it with his free hand.

"I...had to reload my gun."

The Femme simply shook her head before walking off into the room connected to the one they were in. Both men watched her before looking at each other.

"I just improvised." Orion said while pointing to the dead merc with a knife in his back.

"Orion, Shen in here." Rodimus called from the other room, gaining their attention as the Turian dropped down from the second level and walked in with the bot. Once inside they found Rodimus and Nightracer tampering with what looked like a generator.

"Good work in there." the leader said while keeping his attention on his work as he typed a number of commands into the gen's holo-interface.

"Thanks Rodimus, so I guess we are leaving this place as a smoking crater." Orion replied.

"Exactly, this generator is one of several that power the individual buildings of this installation. And they are all connected to reactor that is located underneath it, so just programming this gen to cause a feedback loop which will trick the reactor into a self destruct." Rodimus replied, which Shen raised an eye ridge at.

"You said 'reactor', what will the fall out be?"

"It isn't a nuclear reactor Shen, so there will be no danger to the population centres that are nearby." Nightracer replied.

"Alright, we are done here. We have a few minutes to evacuate before this installation is destroyed." Rodimus then said before tapping his com-link.

Shuttle two, ready for extraction." he added.

"Roger that, on our way." a voice replied on the other side. The team leader then looked at the others as they readied their weapons.

"Our job now is to secure the landing pad and wait for extraction, move out." Rodimus said before the group headed out of the room, leaving Solem and his men where they lay.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

' _What the hell._ ' Orion Thought as he got a good look at what was between him, his friends and their escape route.

"It appears they are waiting for us." Shen said as he took a look through his rifle's scope at the force stationed at the landing pad. Everyone then looked at Nightracer, who gave them a confused expression in return.

"Don't look at me, I already disabled their perimeter defences and security. There is no way they knew what else we did in there."

"Wait, I believe Nightracer has a point...take a look." Rodimus said as he passed over his binoculars to Orion, who took a look.

"There are more than a few cargo containers on that pad, could be that they are awaiting a transport for pickup."

Rodimus nodded in response.

"That would be my guess, good observation Orion." he said back before looking at the timer on his holo-tool.

"We have less than five minutes before the reactor goes, Shen stay here and cover us, Orion and Nightracer...your with me."

They all nodded before the group split up, Shen setting up his sniping spot as the other three quietly made their way closer to the landing pad and the soldiers there.

"How long until that transport arrives, I am sweating out here." one of the soldiers moaned as he removed his helmet, revealing himself to be Human.

"Not for another thirty minutes, so stop your whining." the Vorcha next to him spat back in an annoyed tone.

Meanwhile Orion and Nightracer moved up behind the cargo containers that were between them and the soldiers (two of which were leaning against the boxes), the bot took a quick glance to see as he got into position on the other side of the pad. Orion looked over to the Femme beside him and smiled.

"I won't have to rescue you again...right?" he whispered, earning an eye roll from her.

"In your dreams." she whispered back with a smile before looking over and seeing their leader the green light.

"Showtime." she said to Orion before they both got up and grabbed the pair of mercs and dragged them over the crates and then shot them in the head.

"What the!" another enemy said as he turned to see that his two comrades were gone, but then he was silenced as three bullets burst out of his chest. Orion and Nightracer then revealed themselves to the rest of he mercs there with Rodimus and began firing on them, all the while Shen kept watch from his position. Suddenly an alarm blared all over the installation again, in an almost deafening tone.

"Sounds like we will have more company." Orion said as he killed the last merc with a head shot, Rodimus joining them.

"We will have to hold the landing pad, Shen see what you can do to thin ten out." the team leader said into his com-link.

"What do you think I am doing." the Turian replied after turning around and firing at the large group of enemies that was approaching them, causing the mercs to take cover after two of then fell to the ground with smoking holes in their heads.

"I wont be able to hold them back for long." he added, earning a nod from the bot.

"Understood, do what you can and then get back here."

Rodimus then looked to Orion and Nightracer as re-equipped his assault rifle.

"Get ready."

Both nodded and were about to take up defensive positions when suddenly the familiar engine sound could be heard, getting louder as it approached. The three bots turned to see the shuttle closing on them.

"Commander Rodimus, shuttle two ready for pickup." the pilot said over the link.

"Great timing." the bit replied as he held his hand to his com-link.

"Shen fall back to our position, our ride is here."

But then the Turian appeared from around the corner and ran over to them.

"I thought I would head back early, the mercs threatened to over run my position and are right behind me." Shen said as they heard a lot of shouting and footfalls coming toward them.

"Land this bird now." Rodimus said into his com-link as he looked up to the shuttle, all the while Orion and the others kept their guns trained on the area that the mercs we're coming from.

"Roger...th..." the pilot started to say before the shuttle was hit from weapons fire from it's right, The team looked over at the direction the incoming fire was from to see two gunships flying in.

"Quick, take evasive action..." Rodimus shouted at the pilot, but then the shuttle took another barrage of fire from the gun ships and exploded. Leaving only a burning wreckage falling into the jungle.

"Crap." Shen said as the mercs appeared and surrounded them.

"We only have just over two minutes before this place goes up." Rodimus said to them as the soldiers got closer.

"Don't move Autobots." one of the enemies said while the gunships hovered overheard, training their mini-guns on the team who lowered their weapons.

"We found Solem's body in the main building, the Autobots killed him." another soldier said to the others.

"We'll kill them then, blood for blood."

Shen looked over to Orion and Nightracer with a solemn expression.

"Well, it was nice working with you guys...short though it was."

"Didn't expect it to end this soon, I only just joined the team a few weeks back." Orion replied before one of the mercs pointed his gun at the bot's head.

"Silence you scum."

The three bots then looked at Rodimus who despite the situation remained calm, which confused them.

"Men, take aim." one of the mercs said, making the rest of them aim their weapons at the Autobots heads.

"...and..." he added before a large green vortex appears in the sky overhead gaining everyone's attention.

"What in the..." another merc said before a starship resembling the Defiant flew out of the portal and fired a torpedo at one of the gunships, destroying it. The other one immediately moved away as the new arrival (with Autobot/ISF colour scheme) flew around and fired at the area surrounding the landing platform. Which made the mercs panic and run for cover, Rodimus and the others took this chance and re-equipped their weapons before firing at the retreating enemies. Orion then looked up and saw the Autobot ship destroy the last gunship before making one final turn around, so that it could make a final approach. He could now clearly see the name of the ship 'NORMANDY' painted in white lettering against the red section of the mainly blue paint job of the vessel.

"Normandy to ground team, Commander can you read?" a young male voice spoke over the con-link.

"Jetstorm, lower the shuttle bay ramp. We have less than a minute before this place explodes."

"Roger that." the bot replied as the Normandy came to a stop at the landing pad and extended it's ramp,

"Quickly, get on board." Rodimus said as he and the team climbed onto the ramp which brought them back into the ship, before the Normandy then took off for high orbit only a few moments before the entire installation exploded in amazing fashion, killing the remaining mercs in one fell swoop and leaving nothing but scorched earth in it's place.


	5. Chapter 5

 

The light from the nearby star reflected off the hull of the Normandy as it left orbit of the planet Zorya and jumped into hyperspace, soon finding itself surrounded by blue and white light streams as it traveled at hyperspace. Orion was in the Med-bay, sitting on a berth as a Femme with dark skin and shoulder length brown hair (wearing a uniform with red/white colour scheme) approached him and activated her holo-tool.

"So you just couldn't keep away, could you Orion?" she said with a smile, the bot mirroring her expression as she scanned him.

"What is a girl to think if you keep showing up in her Med-bay like this." she added, while never taking her attention from what she was doing.

"Well maybe Red-Alert, it's your excellent bedside manner that keeps bringing me back." Orion added with a wink, which made the Femme shake her head.

"Well I see two possible reasons for your 'third' visit to me in 'three' missions. One - you keep getting injured just so you have a valid reason to see me, which I find to be the strangest way for a guy to show he likes someone. Or two - your just incompetent and completely unable to get through a mission unscathed..." Red-Alert replied sarcastically as she picked up a medi-gel injection and squeezed out the excess oxygen bubbles from the needle, a little of the serum squirting out too.

"...In which I would have to question your mental state and if you are indeed a danger to your teammates." she added while sticking the needle into his bare fore arm, right in the bruised area. This made Orion flinch before she extracted the needle and smiled as his bruises began to fade away, leaving only healthy skin in its place. The Bot then rubbed the patch of skin and sighed with relief before looking at her.

"Your missing a third reason there."

"Oh...I have?" Red-Alert replied while feigning surprise.

"Yeah, ever thought that I just might have been unlucky in the last three missions. I mean In my whole career so far, I have only been injured a few times, not including the last three." the Bot replied within honest expression.

The Femme then gave Orion a smile with a matter-of-fact expression.

"Did you ever think that I might be pulling your leg at this moment, Shen was right."

The Bot gave her a confused look.

"He was?"

You are easy to set off." she said with a chuckle, making Orion sigh and nod in return.

"...I guess I am. Nice one."

Red-Alert then took one last scan, her expression changing to one of satisfaction.

"Well your injuries are healed, the medi-gel did its job. Your free to leave."

Orion nodded before getting off the berth and standing beside her.

"Thank you."

"So...you weren't flirting with me then during your last few visits? Because I do have a boyfriend." the Femme replied.

"Oh, You think that I was..." Orion replied as he blushed, gaining a smile from the Medic.

"...sorry, I didn't mean anything by that. I was just being friendly." he added sheepishly, making Red-Alert shake her heard in return.

"That's okay."

"What's his name?" the Bot then asked curiously.

"Long-Arm, he is stationed at the 'Omicron' Colony on the edge of Federation space that borders the Terminus systems. He is a highly skilled engineer working on the terraforming towers there." Red-Alert replied with a proud tone in her voice.

"Omicron Colony you say, I have a Cousin who is stationed there too, or so he told me in his last message." the Bot said back.

"Really, may ask what his name is?" the Femme asked.

"Quickstrike and he is an Autobot."

"I have heard of him actually, from Shen when he was in here for his physical last week." The Medic said in return.

"I see." the Bot said back.

"Shen told me that the three of you had known each other since you were all very young."

Orion nodded response with a smile.

"Yeah, both Shen and Quickstrike are like Brothers to me. We have pretty much been there for each other from the start, through our childhood and teenage years all the way to our Autobot training. In fact it wasn't until we passed that and were given our first assignments that we were separated."

"So Quickstrike is your Cousin because his mother and yours are siblings? It's Chromia and Arcee right?" the Femme asked.

"Right and as Shen probably told you, he was adopted by Garrus Vakarian and Tali'Zorah when he was only a few months old." Orion added earning a nod from Red-Alert as she walked over to her station and activated the console there, viewing the time as it appeared on the holo-screen. Her eyes widening as she realised the time.

"He did...well can we continue our chat later, because I am about to be flooded with crewmen expecting their physicals." she said while looking back to Orion.

"Sure, see you later then."

The Bot then walked out of the Med-bay and headed down the light blue steel corridor until someone called his name.

"Orion, wait up."

He stopped and looked back to see Nightracer walking towards him with a smile on her face.

"So you all healed up?" she asked.

"Yeah, Red-Alert just cleared me."

"That is good timing, because I need you in the gym." the Femme replied, earning a puzzled look from Orion.

"Don't tell me you have forgotten..." Nightracer said with a concerned tone as her smile faded, the bit though merely blinked at her blankly.

"...Our Sensei wants to see that we have been keeping up with our training." she added, hoping that this would ignite her friend's memory.

"Oh, that is today?" Orion replied, earning a sigh from Nightracer.

"Yes... I told him in my last message that we would have some free time after the last mission, so let's go."

Orion gave the Femme a suspicious look.

"Why do I get the feeling you just want to see me with bruises."

Nightracer smiled back at him in response.

"Why do you think I said it was good timing." she replied in a joking-like tone as the pair headed for the gym.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile Rodimus was in the com-room, standing next to the controls to the holo-communicator as it activated and the hologram of person began to take shape on the platform in front of the Commander.

"Commander Rodimus, it's good to see you again." a familiar voice spoke as the bot stood to attention while the hologram took on the form of...Jackson Prime.

"You too sir." Rodimus replied as he looked at the Autobot Leader who was wearing his Prime armour and despite being in his early sixties with his black hair now silvery grey and sporting a short-cut beard, still looked a formidable force to contend with...just like the Prime that had preceded him.

"So can you tell me who was trying to smuggle Red Sand into the Federation from Zorya?" Jack asked.

"The mercenary group called themselves 'The Death Skulls' and their leader was Solem Dal'serah." the Commander replied.

"The former Blue Suns leader, now that's interesting." the Prime said as he stroked his beard with his right hand while mulling over the information.

"Sir?" Rodimus asked with a puzzled expression.

"Autobot Intelligence had him down as one of Aria's closest advisers, now if he has turned his back on her...which isn't the smartest thing to do. It would indicate that Omega isn't as secure as its Leader would like to make out."

"Indeed sir." the Commander replied, earning a raised eyebrow from Jack.

"Seriously Rodimus, lose the sir and relax."

"Yes...sure...Jack." the Bot replied as he stood there, obviously uncomfortable.

"Either way, my team and I took care of their operation. We also found evidence of Zorya's Government having ties to the mercs. I will send their names along with the rest of the report." the Commander added.

"Very good, that's three out of three successful missions for you and your team of Spectres Rodimus. Your idea of having not only lone Spectres, but teams of them working together is paying off." Jack replied.

"Thank you Jack."

"And how has the 'Normandy' performed thus far?" the Prime asked.

"She is a fine ship, a true successor to both the original and the Defiant, Jack. And the Space-bridge generator has worked like a charm."

"I see, your report said you used a Space-bridge to get the drop on the mercs defences, what about the ground-bridge capability?" Jack asked as he looked down at what could only be the Commander's report that he has just sent.

"Haven't had an opportunity to make use of that setting yet." Rodimus replied.

"Okay, well the data from the Normandy's Space-bridge use is among your report, and it all looks good. That is a good sign for the coming launch of the new Nemesis." Jack said back as a hologram of the dreadnought appeared next to him.

"Not only are both the Normandy and the Nemesis successors to two of the Reaper War's most famous ships, but they are also the first ships able to create their own Space-bridge vortexes. The Federation wanted the Autobots to be able to get to anywhere in the galaxy at the push of a button, negating the need to have to access the Space-bridge Network, which will be for Civilians...once the Autobot Fleet has been refitted." Jack added.

"Plus isn't the Nemesis replacing the soon to be decommissioned 'Ark' as the flagship of the Autobots?" Rodimus asked.

"Yes, my mobile Command Centre has been through a lot in it's time. The 'Autobot/Decepticon War', the 'Reaper War' and the years of change that followed. We will be saying goodbye to the Ark on the Twenty Fifth Anniversary of the Federation's birth which, will be held at New Iacon in a few days as well as launching the Nemesis too." the Prime said.

"The Normandy will be present at the anniversary Jack, just as planned." Rodimus replied, making the Prime shake his head in response.

"I am not sure that you will be, unfortunately Rodimus. Because I have another mission for your team."

"Does this mission have anything to do with the Federation/Autobot ships that have gone missing in the last month Jack?" the Commander asked.

"No it does not, that particular issue is being investigated as we speak, though at this time we still have no leads on who it might be. And even though the disappearances have all occurred on the border with the Terminus systems, Omega is claiming innocence and so far no one has taken responsibility." Jack replied.

"Well from what I have read, whoever this is has done a good job hiding their tracks. Since there are no survivors or debris of any kind at the locations where the ships have gone missing." Rodimus added.

"I have sent out a further warning to all Federation ships reminding them to be careful when passing through that region, while also pairing up Autobot cruisers so that they can be sure of their safety while searching for this unknown enemy. Anyway as I said, it is being investigated. The mission I want your team for is something else entirely." the Prime replied.

"And what would it be?" the Bot asked as a number of holo-screens appeared around Jack.

"You have heard of Matriarch Benezia?" the Prime asked as the screens showed images of the Asari.

"Of course, she is the elected Asari representative in the Senate." Rodimus answered with a curious tone, wondering where this was going.

"Well the Matriarch has requested Autobot aid in locating her daughter...Dr Liara T'Soni, who has become one of the Federation's most respected Archaeologists. She disappeared a month ago."

Rodimus looked at the image of Liara that appeared alongside the others.

"Didn't she also help you on Thessia during the Reaper war?"

"Yes she did." Jack replied as he looked away ever so slightly, as the mention of that event brought up memories of a good friend he had lost during that event. But he then looked back at Rodimus.

"She disappeared a month ago, you have been looking for her for this long without success?" the Commander asked.

"Yes, and our efforts have come up with nothing."

"Alright, so what are the details?" Rodimus said back.

"Dr T'Soni joined the crew of the 'Icarus', a Federation star-ship whose mission was to explore the possibilities of remote ancient Cybertronian settlements on planets all over the galaxy. The mission was to take five years to complete." the Prime said as images of the ship and it's crew appears alongside the ones or Liara and her Mother.

"Matriarch Benezia brought up the matter of the Icarus, when her daughter failed to contact her for their weekly talk. We first checked the flight plan of the ship and found out it's last stop before heading home was to be Cybertron." the Prime said as the planet appeared on one of the holo-screens.

"And they weren't there?" the Commander asked.

"No, I sent a cruiser to Cybertron but after repeated scans of the planet came up empty, I had the search extended to the surrounding systems...but nothing came up." Jack replied.

"So what happened then?" Rodimus asked.

"I had Autobot Intelligence take over the search and just today, Miranda Lawson contacted me with a possible location of Dr T'Soni." the Autobot leader said back.

"Where is she?" The Commander asked.

"Miranda told me that one of her contacts, who goes by the name of 'Kasumi Goto'..." Jack started to reply before Rodimus jumped in.

"I have heard of her, she is a professional Thief." he said with disdain in his voice.

"Yes I know, but I trust Miranda's judgement. She has done a fine job keeping the Federation secure from sabotage and espionage attempts for the last twenty five years while running AI, so I expect you to stay professional while working with Kasumi." Jack replied, making Rodimus's eyes widen.

"Excuse me Jack?"

"Kasumi has requested your team for the mission, she has all the details and will contact the Normandy when she is ready to proceed. Your orders are to work with her and bring Liara T'Soni back, and also see if you can find anything out about the fate of the Icarus." the Autobot Leader said in a commanding tone.

"Very well, when do we have to meet Kasumi?" Rodimus replied.

"She will send you the time and coordinates for the mission, just be prepared. Alright I have other things to deal with.." Jack said as he was ready to end the transmission, but Rodimus stopped him.

"Jack, you never asked about Orion."

This comment cut straight through the Prime's stern and commanding posture, as he looked at the Commander with a surprised look.

"I am aware that you know that I recruited him to my team, and that you weren't happy with that." Rodimus continued, making Jack look uncomfortable.

"I know it was Orion's choice and though his choice was not what I would have wanted for him, he is still a man...and capable of making his own decisions." Jack replied while looking away from the bot. Rodimus though kept his attention firmly on the Prime.

"Jack we have known and served alongside each other for a long time, and you know you can trust me. What happened between you and your Son? the two of you used to be so close."

Jackson Prime glanced at the Commander, wishing at this moment that he was elsewhere. Hell he would happily fight the Reapers again, rather than have this conversation...it's hard enough when it is just Arcee, pressuring him, but now everyone wants to know.

"Rodimus I appreciate your concern, but this is a family matter." he replied.

Oh...alright then..." the Commander said back with a sigh, a sign that he was giving up this line of questioning.

"...well Orion really is a 'chip of the old block', I think that is the Human term." he continued as Jack just looked at him, listening to his every word. Rodimus then activated his holo-tool.

"I am sending you the footage my holo-tool recorded from our last mission, you should be proud of him. Because I am proud to have him on my team." He added, his tone full of pride. Jack nodded as he looked at his holo-tool as it confirmed the receipt of the footage.

"Thank you Rodimus and good luck on your mission, I look forward to hearing it's of it's completion in your next report. Prime out." Jack replied with a nod, before the transmission was cut and his hologram disappeared, leaving Rodimus to stand there and look at the space in front of him.

Meanwhile onboard the Ark, Jack stepped off the holo-communicator pad and took a seat at his desk and looked out at the empty void of space through the window in his ready room, his thoughts now dwelling on his son. He then sighed and activated his terminal, a large holo-screen appearing in front of the Prime. Jack selected the vid-footage from his holo-tool which then appeared as a still image on the screen, that showed Orion being held by two merc soldiers as he was presented to the Death Skulls leader.

"Computer play footage." The Autobot Leader said aloud, causing the screen to come to life as the footage began play. And as Jack watched the scene unfold, his lips slowly curved into a smile at what he was witnessing.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Shen sat in the mess hall while watching the news reel on the holo-screen on the wall in front of him, the Turian took his dextro-drink in his hands as he looked at the screen.

"...and with yet another federation ship, a heavy cargo carrier called 'Axalon' has gone missing while on the edge of ISF space that borders the Terminus systems. This is the fifth ship to have disappeared in the region and so Jackson Prime has again warned all ISF vessels against travelling within the effected area while also strengthening The Autobot forces that are investigating." the Salarian newscaster said before a smile appeared on his face.

"And finally, preparations are almost complete for the Twenty Fifth Anniversary of the ISF which is only days away now..."

As the Salarian spoke, video footage showed street parties and celebrations being prepared on planets all over the galaxy.

"...citizens all over the Federation look to be getting in the party mood and the main event will be here in New Iacon..."

Shen quit watching the news as it continued to play out for the other crewmen in the room, instead looking T the time on his holo-tool before shaking his head with a disappointed expression.

_'Orion and Nightracer should have been here by now.'_ he thought with a sigh before gulping down the remainder of his drink.

_'I bet I know where they are.'_

The Turian then got up and left the mess hall, going down the corridor towards the a large grey door at its end. As he walked up to it Shen pressed the control panel to his left, causing the door to open and allow him entry. What he saw just made him roll his eyes as before him in the middle of the room, Orion and Nightracer were fighting each other on a large training mat, they both wore gym bottoms and tank tops as they darted around each other trading blows.

"Please tell me you two haven't fallen out again?" Shen asked aloud, causing both fighters to stop and give him an annoyed stare.

"Halt!" a voice spoke firmly, almost making the Turian jump in surprise. Shen looked to his right and saw the hologram of an old Caucasian man standing with his arms folded behind his back, he was wearing black and white robes that had a red outline. He too gave the Turian an annoyed look.

"Will you please remain quiet while my students are sparring."

When did not know where to look as he suddenly felt very embarrassed.

"Sorry, didn't realise I was intruding on...something.. I guess." the Turian replied sheepishly before looking back at his friends and gesturing a silent 'I'm sorry' to the pair before sitting down on the bench next to the door. Both bots gave him an accepting smile before looking back to the hologram.

"Master Prowl?" Nightracer said while taking a breath.

"You may continue..." he replied as the Femme and Orion took up fighting stances in front of each other.

"So where were we?" Orion asked with a grin.

"I was just about to kick your ass." the Femme replied confidently, earning a knowing look from the blue haired Bot.

"I don't think so, you've never beaten me." he replied as he tightened his fists, which in turn flexed the toned muscles on his arms as he stood ready. Nightracer just shook her head gently as she looked at him.

"...maybe, but you have never defeated me either." she said back with a wink.

"Begin!" Prowl said aloud and suddenly both friends lunged at each other as their fight reignited. Shen just sat and watched as the two fought each other, one attacking and the other defending and then the tide would switch in an instant as the other would counter almost immediately. Orion moved in close and ducked under a round house kick from Nightracer before unleashing an uppercut as the Femme was turning back round to face him, but Nightracer was ready and blocked the punch as she then grabbed his arm and twisted it into an arm-lock. Orion grimaced but managed to smile at her. The femme simply smiled back in an way which was almost cocky, like she believed she had the advantage. But then Orion kicked at her knee, causing Nightracer to let go and dodge the attack. The Bot then recovered and quickly went on the attack with a side kick, and yet again the Femme blocked and grabbed hold of it. But before she could do anything, Orion then launched himself into the air and aimed another kick with his free leg.

Nightracer let go and pulled her head back just enough for his foot to just brush past her face, she could feel the air being cut as it passed her skin by mere millimetres. Orion then fell to the floor and did a back-roll onto his feet but before he had a chance to get his bearings, the Femme was already attacking with a punch and then a kick which he blocked perfectly. He then went on the offensive with several punches, elbows and kicks, all of which Nightracer successfully defended against. Meanwhile Shen was now totally engrossed in this contest/training match, he found that he could not pick a victor between the two...not only because they were both his friends, but because they were so evenly matched. The way they fought and moved, it was like watching a dance. Neither one giving the other an inch, the Turian could see why Prowl considered them his best students since Arcee, Orion's own mother who once trained under him.

Shen though was never too keen on fighting at such close proximity, preferring to stay at a distance and let his sniper-rifle do the work. But then again, he had been trained by his father - Garrus Vakarian who was known as one of...sorry, the best sniper in the galaxy...or so he liked to think. As his friends continued to dance around, trying to gain the advantage over the other, Shen took a moment to think of his parents. His mother Tali'Zorah was one of the Quarian Councillors that worked directly for the Quarian senator, who represented their race in the ISF senate. Shen's father was one of the Turian Hierarchy's most respected military advisers. The last time he saw his parents was a year ago while he was on leave. He had gone back to Rannoch and stayed with them at the family home which was on the coast of the main continent. Shen had many happy memories of his life there with his parents and no matter where he went in the galaxy now, he still thought that it was better than what he has seen since.

The Turian was brought out of his thoughts by the sounds of a struggle and looked up from the ground to see that Nightracer was grappling with Orion, both friends continued to smile at each other as they fought. Now if Shen had not known both of them and their history, then he would have sworn that this fight was actually more of a flirtation between the two as they attempted to impress each other. But the Turian knew them only too well, the pair were once a couple a number of years ago. Orion met Nightracer when he was twelve years old as the bot started his martial art classes under Master Prowl and over time, the pair grew closer. What was once a 'three musketeers' like friendship between Orion, Quickstrike and himself soon turned into a 'wolf pack'.

Nightracer was definitely a tomboy and enjoyed all the same things as the rest of the group, but as they all went into their teens, she really only ever had eyes for Orion and it wasn't long until the two were dating. The Femme even introduced the bot to flying and they were trained by Jetfire and Nightracer's mother Slipstream. Everything went well for the wolf pack and the couple within it through their teenage years, except for the fact that Arcee was not a fan of Orion's choice of girlfriend, which her Son had told them was because Nightracer's mother was once a Decepticon who had caused his Mother harm during the Great War. Even though it had been decades since the Autobot/Decepticon conflict, and most of the Cybertronian species had healed the wounds that had once separated them, it was still difficult for some to let go of the past. But despite this obstacle, Orion and Nightracer had pushed on with their relationship and were happier for it.

Though it was not until a few months into the group's enrollment into the Autobots, that the couple then came to the conclusion that they saw no future for their relationship and decided to end it and remain close friends. This had shocked both Shen and Quickstrike who had grown accustomed to their friends being together, but both respected their decision. It was not long after that the group were separated fully as their training took them in different directions, but as some would say, fate is a funny thing. Because the group is pretty much back together again (except for Quickstrike), serving on the same team and ship.

Shen was again snapped out of his own thoughts as Orion won what had almost become a wrestling match as he picked the Femme up and threw her over his shoulder, sending her flying a meter or two across the mat. But Nightracer had almost perfect dexterity as she stopped her fall with her hands and flipped back on to her feet before turning back to the Bot who attacked yet again, with another flurry of punches and kicks which the Femme blocked successfully. The fight itself had now moved off the pad as Nightracer realised she was right next to the wall and Orion had her almost trapped...almost. The femme smiled at her opponent before jumping against the wall and springing off it into a jump kick, Orion though managed to dodge the attack by rolling out of the way and ending up in a kneeling position as Nightracer landed with her back to him. So he rose back up and went into a spin kick, the femme did the same and...

"Enough!" Prowl said aloud, making both friends stop just over midway through their attacks. Their kicks just away from each others faces. They looked over to their Teacher who merely gestured for the pair to walk over to him, and they brought their legs back down and went over to Prowl.

"I have seen all I need to see, and I am impressed." the old Bot said with a smile, making both Orion and Nightracer relax somewhat.

"Your skills are most impressive, it makes me very proud to see how far you have come since the first day that you were brought before me as children."

"Thank you Master." both Nightracer and Orion said simultaneously.

"Then I bid you farewell and safe journey.' Prowl replied before his hologram faded to nothing as the transmission finished. Then Shen got up and walked over to the pair as they picked up their towels and water bottles, quenching their thirst while wiping off the sweat from their faces.

"That was a great fight, I couldn't tell who was going to win out of you guys." the Turian said as he activated his holo-tool and brought up an image.

"I even took a snap shot of that last kick you both did." Shen continued as the pair looked at the picture and saw their frozen image of their almost posing-like kicks at each other.

"Nice photo Shen, though obviously I was going to win. Ni was lucky that Master Prowl ended the fight where he did." Orion replied, making the Femme laugh.

"In your dreams Orion, we both know that I was the more likely to win. But you just don't want to admit that you nearly lost to a Girl." Nightracer said back confidently as she crossed her arms and cocked her head slightly.

"What?...who's dreaming now Ni." the Bot replied with a smile as he stood directly in front of her. The pair then stared at each other for a long moment, the Femme still with her arms crossed, not giving her former Boyfriend an inch.

"Would you two get a room!" Shen said, gaining the attention of his friends who looked at the Turian with surprised expressions.

"We don't do that anymore Shen." Nightracer replied with Orion nodding in agreement.

_'Could of fooled me.'_  the Turian thought as he started for the door.

"Well we were supposed to be in the mess-hall and eating by now. So get yourselves washed, dressed and meet me there." Shen then added as he walked out of the empty door. Both Orion and Nightracer waited for a moment, to be sure that Shen was gone, but then the Turian popped his head back in the gym.

"And I mean separate showers too." he finished with a grin before walking away, whistling a tune as he did so. His two friends simply smiled at each other and were about to follow when Rodimus's voice spoke over the inter-com.

"Orion and Nightracer, report to the CIC. We have another mission."

The Femme shot a guilty smile towards the bot in response.

"Looks like we have to leave Shen hanging again."

"Everyone will have heard that, He will understand. Let's go." Orion replied as he gestured for her to follow, so both friends then headed toward the gym's entrance.

"Do we really still look like we are dating, because Shen's aware that we are only friends now right?" Nightracer could be heard asking before the Gym's door closed behind them.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

The Icarus weathered yet another rust storm as it sat outside of Shockwave's Predacon facility on Cybertron, metal pieces ranging in size from small stones to those the size of footballs rebounding off the ship's hull with some force. Lazerback looked at the storm from the safety of one of the Icarus's corridors, the reinforced glass of the windows not even looking remotely damaged even after this long in the storm. The Predacon then carried on towards his destination, which was a door at the end of the lowly-corridor. He stepped within arms reach of said door and it opened to reveal the ship's bridge, which had a Terracon (soldier class) at each command station.

"Lazerback, how did your mission conclude?" a deep and commanding voice spoke, making the bot turn to see Galvatron standing at one of the stations. The Predacon leader was in a conversation with someone over the com-link and he gestured for Lazerback to wait, before turning back to the screen.

"And which of our three beasts is ready to fly Shockblast?...ah I see...why do I ask? Well I want to send one with Ripclaw and Ser-Ket, as well as a garrison of Terracons. They will take one of our captured Autobot cruisers and acquire us another base, because despite your assurances that the cloaking field (created by Shockwave) has hidden both this facility and the Icarus from the prying eyes of the Autobots. I believe that we should not keep all our Energon in one container as the saying goes...I am glad you are in agreement Shockblast, so I will not keep your attention from the other Predacon beasts any longer. Please keep me apprised of their development, Galvatron out."

The Predacon Lord then turned to Lazerback who bowed to him, acknowledging the Con as his superior.

"Lord Galvatron."

"Ah, Lazerback. And how did your mission play out?" Galvatron asked.

"It was successful my lord, we have another cruiser to add to your fleet." Lazerback replied.

"You mean 'our' fleet, don't you?"

The Predacon suddenly looked nervous in front of his master.

"Forgive me Lord Galvatron." he replied hesitantly, earning a smile from his master.

"None needed Lazerback, this fleet that we are building is for all Predacons. You see when we ready to leave this dead-world, I intend to bring all our brothers and sisters with us."

"I see my Lord." Lazerback replied before Galvatron's com-link beeped, gaining his attention.

"I have to take this Lazerback, you are dismissed." he then said, before tapping his ear-piece. The Predacon merely nodded and bowed before taking his leave.

"Shockblast, I thought you were busy with...you did, 'he' has."

A dark smile appeared on the Predacon Leader's face as he listened to Shockblast, but then it was replaced by a scowl as his red eyes widened.

"He is what?...you told me he would find that Asari for us, not try to get her himself. Well we will just have to take care of this ourselves won't we." Galvatron replied angrily before closing the com-link. He felt his blood boiling as he activated a terminal on the station in front of him.

"Six-shot come in." he spoke as he looked at the terminal's screen as the Con's face came into view.

"I am here my Lord. How may I be of service?"

"You are currently on board the 'Achilles', the Autobot patrol cruiser...yes?" the Predacon leader asked trying to hide his growing anger.

"Indeed I am my lord, this ship is fully loaded with gun-ships and weapons. And I have a full company of Terracons onboard." Six-shot replied.

"Good, because we have just received word from the Shadow-Broker who has located that damned Asari who escaped us a month ago."

Six-shot looked uncertain at that news as he stared at his master.

"I see and where is that?"

"I am sending you the exact coordinates now, you are to take the Achilles to Illium." Galvatron replied as he typed on his holo-tool's interface.

"And you want us to capture the Asari?" Six-shot asked, earning a knowing look from his leader.

"No, you are to terminate her...and anyone else that is around her. We can not allow her to speak of us at all...understand?"

"Crystal clear my Lord, Six-shot out."

The screen then deactivated as Galvatron breathed heavily, trying to control his lust for killing at this moment, so not to unleash his beast mode on the troops around him. But it was at this very moment that familiar laughing which the Clone had heard a month ago returned and echoed around the room, making the Predacon leader turn around and stare at the Terracons around him. They all just stopped and looked at him like a Deer caught in a car's headlights.

"Carry on!" the Predacon Leader spat as he stormed out of the room, while two questions weighed heavily on his mind.

'W _here is that infernal laughing coming from, and why does it sound and feel so...familiar.'_


	6. Chapter 6

 

An unmarked transport ship dropped out of hyperspace on the outskirts of the star system before using it's sunlight engines for the remainder of the journey, not an uncommon sight in this region of space as Illium was still a busy hub for commerce and trade in the Federation despite being infamous for its ties to corruption and criminal activity.

Onboard the transport, in one of its waiting rooms there were a squad of soldiers wearing white and black armour. You couldn't tell who they were due to their faces being obscured by the visors of their helmets as they sat and held onto their weapons, but they looked similar to the Phantom class soldiers that the long absent MECH used to employ. Also there were three people standing at the far end of the room, one was wearing blue and white armour. Obviously female by the look of her athletic figure and light weight amour, but like the other soldiers was wearing a helmet. They next was a Drell, a omnivorous reptilian like alien that was wearing grey and black coloured clothes, he simply stood there with his hands behind his back and looked out of the window with a contemplative expression on his face. The last was a Chinese human male in black and white armour, he had a katana blade connected to his back and a holo-visor covering his eyes, he looked somewhat agitated as he stood there. Suddenly the female's holo-tool activated and a holo-screen appeared in front of the three, the image was unidentifiable due to the heavy static that was accompanying the footage.

"Agent Zero-One, report your status." a highly disguised voice spoke from the screen.

"Shadow Broker, our ship has just dropped out of hyperspace and will entering the orbit of Illium in a few minutes." the female Agent replied.

"Good, your target is Dr Liara T'Soni. She is being held at one of the higher tier buildings in the city of Nos Astra. The Doctor is to be retrieved and brought back to one of my safe-houses until we receive payment from our client." the Shadow Broker said back, earning a nod from the female agent before she turned her attention to the pair standing near her.

"Is there any reason why two assassins are with us, surely my squad and I will be sufficient enough to grab one Asari?"

"The Assassins are here as backup for you, since I have heard that there will be another player in the game...the Autobots." the Shadow Broker replied, earning a sigh from the Agent.

"I see, well I still believe that it will be unnecessary..."

"The Human is Kai Leng." the Broker interrupted, making the agent look over to the Human again.

"Kai Leng, the former Alliance marine turned Assassin?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, his volatile nature and distrust for anything not human was something that drove him out of the Alliance before the Reaper War began. He has been an merc and assassin ever since, happily killing any non-humans for profit. So just be sure not to remove your helmet at any point during the mission." the Broker said, warning a nod from the Agent.

"And who is the Drell?"

"The Drell is one Thane Krios." the Shadow Broker added, as though her face could not be seen behind her helmet's visor, her eyes still widened in surprise.

"I am sorry, I did not recognise him. All Drell look the same to me. But how did you get him on the payroll, because he has said no many times over the years."

"Let's just say I made him a deal that he could not refuse."

Zero-One looked back at the two assassins and saw a compact looking patch that was attached above both men's right eye.

"What is that device on their foreheads?"

"You recall the fall of MECH during the final days of the Reaper war, well I managed to acquire some of their possessions which were Cybertronian tech. One of which was a device called a 'Phase-Shifter', now I do not know how MECH managed to get their hands on that or any of the technology that came to be in my possession, but using my connections I have duplicated the phase-shifting tech for our own use. What you see on their foreheads is the main device which also contains a synaptic interface that allows the user to control the device mentally, negating the need for manual operation." the Broker replied.

"Impressive, so where's mine?" the Female asked in return.

"Patience, you will receive one for all your good work for me, but in the mean time I believe that your Biotics will suffice." the blurred and disjointed image on the screen replied before the intercom activated.

"We are entering the orbit of Illium, all hands prepare for descent." the transport's captain said.

"I will leave you now, just be sure to carry out your mission to the letter and bring me back Dr T'Soni, Shadow Broker out." the voice finished as the transmission ended. The female Agent then turned to the two assassins.

"I hope you are ready?"

Kai Leng gave her a suspicious stare.

"Just concentrate on your role, I know what I have to do." he replied with an aggressive tone at the black visor of the Agent's helmet, before looking away. Obviously wondering what this agent really looked like and why she would hide it. The female then turned her attention to the Drell who looked like he was praying as he stood I front of the window, his head bowed and hands clasped to together.

"Are you ready Krios?" the Agent asked, but the Drell did not speak or even turn to acknowledge her. So she just walked over to her squad of soldiers and began final preparations as the transport began its descent into Illium's atmosphere.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Orion, Nightracer, Rodimus and Red-Alert stood in civilian clothing on the corner of a busy street in the middle of a large business center in the city of Nos Astra on Illium, they had been directed too in a message from Miranda Lawson's contact. The group had been waiting there for the last thirty minutes, with some of them starting to become impatient.

"I can't believe that we are working with a Thief, and how long does this Kasumi expect us to just wait here for?" Nightracer asked, not hiding her impatience from the rest of the group.

"Patience Nightracer, I'm sure we will hear something soon." Red-Alert replied, though the Femme looked like she didn't believe her own words as she looked over at the people walking by on the other side of the street. Orion meanwhile looked up at the sights surrounding them, with the skyscrapers that seemed to reach up into the heavens.

"Impressive isn't it." Rodimus said after noticing that Orion was looking more like an awe struck tourist at this very moment.

"Yes it is, never been to Illium before." the younger Bot replied.

"Well the architecture is very impressive, especially when you consider that we are much higher off the surface due to the temperature there being to high for anyone to live." the Spectre Leader replied as they both looked up and marveled at the buildings, as streams of sky-cars flew in-between them. Nightracer meanwhile had let her impatience get the better of her and walked over to the nearby advertisement booth.

"If I have to stand here for a while, I might as well see what kind of adverts they have running right now. The Femme said as she tapped the large screen. The booth came to life as the image of a Japanese woman appeared there, her face was partly obscured by the shadow created from the hood that she had covering her head.

"Commander Rodimus, speak the password and win a free prize." the image said, earning the attention of the group.

"Wait...what?" Nightracer replied as Rodimus stood beside her.

"I told you all earlier that the message included a password."

The Commander then looked at the booth.

"Silence is golden."

The image smiled back in response.

"Good to finally meet you Commander Rodimus, the photo on your Autobot profile doesn't do you justice." she replied coyly, almost making the Commander blush.

"...Thank you, what happens now?" he replied, trying to move forward and ignoring the Femmes who chuckled behind him.

"Well firstly..." Kasumi said back before stopping after her eyes fell on Orion.

"Wow...you look just like him."

The Bot suddenly felt not just the thief's but everyone's eyes on him, making him feel uncomfortable.

"...him? He managed to say while his cheeks started to go red.

"Why your Father of course and he is very handsome as well, I see the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree in that respect." Kasumi replied with a wink. And if Orion was feeling uncomfortable before, then it had just increased nearly ten fold in the space of a few seconds.

"You met Jackson Prime?" Rodimus asked, trying to regain the thief's attention away from the younger Bot.

"Yes..." she replied before looking back at Orion.

"I have a funny tale to tell you if you want to hear it later?" she asked, noticing by his posture that Orion wasn't really comfortable with this subject.

"Yeah, maybe later. So like Rodimus asked, what happens now?" he replied, making Kasumi's expression turn serious.

"Yes right...so let's take this indoors then, I am sending you the coordinates for a warehouse not far from your current position. I will meet you there."

The advert booth then deactivated just as Rodimus's holo-tool activated and pinged, gaining his attention.

"Okay, it's this way."

He then began following the directions as the others followed him. They walked down a block or two before stopping in front of what looked like a warehouse.

"This is the place." Rodimus stated as he deactivated his holo-tool.

"You sure?" Red-Alert asked a little unconvinced.

"Yeah this is the place." the Commander replied as he grabbed the door handle and opened the door.

"Inside."

The others obeyed and entered the warehouse to find that the place was deserted.

"So she had us wait at one place and didn't show up, then gave us another place to meet only for her to not appear again." Nightracer started again, this time with Red-Alert nodding in response.

"Even I am starting to think something isn't right with this picture."

Orion stepped ahead of the group and looked around the empty and dark interior of the warehouse, before looking back at them with a passive thoughtful expression.

"I bet she was there at that street corner the whole time, shadowing us so she would gain an insight into each of our personalities."

"So it wasn't just the good looks that you inherited from your Father." a voice spoke out before Kasumi appeared within the middle of the group, smiling at young blue haired Bot.

"You also got his mind too." she added while the Femmes looked at her in wide eyed surprise. Orion once again felt his cheeks heating up as another unexpected bout of shyness crept its way up from his spark.

"So Kasumi, now that we are away from prying eyes and ears. Can you tell us what we are here to do?" Rodimus asked, wanting to get on with the mission, and not stall it with the Thief's obvious interest in Orion.

"Of course Rodimus." she replied before winking at the bot, and then stood before the group.

"Now as the Commander has probably already told you, Matriarch Benezia's daughter, Dr Liara T'Soni has been missing for the last month since the Icarus, the science cruiser she was on board disappeared around the suburbs of Cybertron."

As she spoke, Kasumi activated her holo-tool and brought up several holo-screens which showed various Intel to the group.

"Jackson Prime asked Miranda Lawson and 'Autobot Intelligence' to use all of their resources to find the Matriarch's daughter, and so she asked me to use my connections." the Thief added.

"What connections do you have?" Nightracer asked with a distrusting tone, which Orion put down to the fact that Kasumi was a Thief and quite possibly her interest in himself. As the Bot thought this, Kasumi gave the Femme a knowing look.

"Hello, I'm a professional Thief. How do you think I make a living? If someone wants something and can't get it legally, then they come to me and I get it for them for a modest fee." she replied sarcastically, which made the Femme narrow her eyes and stare daggers at her.

"...And don't you just steal for yourself too." Nightracer spat back.

"Okay so I am a kleptomaniac, shoot me." Kasumi replied with little care in her voice while throwing her hands in the air, this though was the final straw for the Femme who clenched her fist and went to punch the thief.

"You bitch!"

Orion saw it coming and managed to get in the way of the attack, stopping her and earning a surprised look from the others who could not believe what they just saw.

"Nightracer, go outside and clear your head now." the Commander replied with a firm tone.

"I'll go with her." Orion said back before looking at Kasumi, who gave him a grateful expression. The Bot then followed the Femme, who stormed out of the building.

Orion stepped outside to see the Femme kicking over the dustbins that has been left outside in a fit of rage, their contents spilling onto the ground.

"Well that went well." he said as Nightracer kicked over the last bin, before stopping and breathing heavily. After a moment she turned to face the Bot.

"I am sorry Orion, I didn't mean to embarrass you and the others."

The blue haired Spectre walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"Its alright, Rodimus is the one you should apologise to."

"I know, and I will when we go back inside." she replied.

"So can I ask why?" Orion said back, earning a look of confusion from Nightracer.

"Why?"

"Why did you go all out on Kasumi just now?" the Bot asked, though he felt he already knew the answer...the real answer.

"Orion, I...my family has had some rough times because of people like her."

"What do you mean?" he asked back as the two sat down and leaned against the wall of the warehouse.

"Let's just say that no matter where we went, we always remained a target for those that would want to prey on us. You see my mother always had trouble wherever she went, mainly due to her being a former Decepticon, I guess there were just people that couldn't let go of the fact that she fought for the other side. Well you know what I mean Orion." the Femme said, gaining a subtle nod from the bot who was listening intently.

"After I was born, things just got worse. We had to move from place to place because no matter where we lived, after a few nights our home would be ransacked and all of our possessions stolen...every single time. So after this happened a number of times, I just tried to desensitize myself to it by not having any possessions." Nightracer added.

"That's why your bedroom always looked really basic, no attempt to decorate it or fill it with your own things." Orion replied, remembering the many times he had seen her room.

"It wasn't what you would call a girly room was it." The Femme said back.

"Did this continue to happen after we met?" the Bot asked.

"No, but the damage was done and I saw life quite differently to most kids my age at that time. You see one night when I was twelve...it was about a month before we first met, it seems that those who were stealing from us and making our lives hell had enough of just doing that and attacked us directly. My Father, who was a former Alliance marine managed to defend my Mother and I, until the police arrived and arrested the group. The assailants were a group of former Autobots and one had a brother who had been killed by my mother when she was a Con. They wanted to make her life as miserable as theirs had become." Nightracer said as she looked at the ground.

"I am sorry Ni." the blue haired Bot said as she gently leaned against him.

"You want to know the reason I joined Master Prowl's dojo, which lead to us meeting for the first time all those years ago." she said as her eyes started to fill up.

"Okay.."

"I wanted to learn how to fight so that I could protect my Mother when my Father wasn't around."

"Because your Mother's injury robbed her of the ability to protect herself." Orion replied, earning a nod from the Femme.

"You've seen her yourself Orion, my Mother is a shadow of who she used to be."

"I know, your Mother was considered a hero for her shuttle runs deep into Reaper held territory on Earth during the war, she evacuated many Civilians before they could be harvested by the Reapers. But on the last day of the war, her shuttle was brought down by one of the Reaper Harvesters." Orion said, remembering the story from the history lessons he had back at school.

"Yes, she managed to crash land in a safe area and all the passengers were fine. But my Mother's right leg was broken, now a wound like that on her Pretender body would have been no problem to repair if a Medic was on hand." Nightracer continued.

"But there was none, and then the Primus-wave enveloped her as it covered the planet." Orion said back, earning a nod from the Femme.

"It changed not only her body, but made the wound far more problematic. When a search and rescue team finally showed up after several hours, her leg was no longer capable of being healed and my Mother had to have the leg amputated."

As she said this, a tear ran down the Femme's cheek. This had not gone unnoticed by Orion who in response, put his arm around her and held her.

"I guess the Primus-wave changing our biology wasn't just all positives after all." she added as Orion looked at her with a solemn expression.

"I'm sorry Ni."

"You've got nothing to apologise for Orion, I just saw that Thief and it brought back all those memories. I should be apologising to you, we have a mission to do and..." the Femme replied as her eyes started to water, so Orion pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay...it's okay." he said softly as she rest her head on his neck and quietly sobbed. As the two remained lie this, the door opened and Red-Alert popped her head out and looked down to see them. Orion met her gaze and said nothing, but the Femme knew what he meant and nodded in response before going back inside and closing the door, leaving the two alone again. Another long moment passed before Nightracer broke the embrace and pulled away, wiping her eyes.

"Look at me, I'm never usually like this."

"How long you have been bottling this up inside Ni?" the Bot asked with a worried look.

"Too long...I guess." she said back in an honest with a sigh. Both then looked ahead before Orion took a breath.

"You going to be alright?"

"Yeah, I think I will be. It feels good to finally lay it out in front of me, you know." she replied, Orion then got to his feet and held his hand out to her.

"So, you ready to get back to work?"

Nightracer looked up into the blue haired bot's eyes and smiled back.

"Yeah, let's do it." she replied as she took his hand in her own, the Bot then helped the Femme to her feet before re-entering the warehouse.

Once inside, the pair noticed that only Rodimus and Red-Alert were now occupying the building's interior.

"Is everything alright?" the Commander asked as he looked at Nightracer, the Femme nodded in return.

"Yes, and I apologise for my behavior. It won't happen again."

"Good, though Red-Alert informed me that you were quite distressed when she went to check on the two of you." Rodimus replied, the Femme looked over to the Medic who gave her a friendly smile.

"You sure your okay?" she asked.

"Yes thank you, I'm more embarrassed than anything else right now." Nightracer replied with a sheepish tone.

"Well its in the past, so let's get on with the job we are here to do." The Commander said as Orion looked around them.

"Where did Kasumi go?"

"She went to make sure our hired transport out of here is still safe." Red-Alert replied, earning an annoyed look from the blue haired Bot.

"That bucket of bolts barely got us here in one piece, tell me again why we couldn't just use the Normandy..." Orion asked with a slightly aggravated tone.

"...I mean I wasn't even piloting it on the trip over here and even I could tell that it's handling was awful, if we need to get of here in a hurry...or if there is a fire-fight, I don't think it will hold up." he added while bringing up the plans of the mission on his hook-tool, while Rodimus crossed his arms and looked at the younger Darby.

"I still forget that you are also a pilot Orion...but even though I share your concerns, Kasumi said that the Normandy would be easily recognised by Hock's security as well as the rest of Illium's criminal element.

"Hock?" Nightracer asked with a slightly confused expression.

"Donovan Hock, he is a weapons dealer, smuggler and patron of the arts." Rodimus answered as he brought up several holo-screens with his holo-tool.

"He is also the person that according to Kasumi, purchased Liara T'Soni from some Slavers who found her in an escape pod." Red-Alert added, making Orion look confused now.

"Purchased?"

"Yes, Hock used to be a client of Kasumi's but apparently there is now bad blood between the two of them. But she still has contacts on the inside of his operation. They told her that he had bought Liara from some Slavers only a few days ago after they had spent a month trying to re-educate her. I only hope that the psychological...let alone the physical damage is reversible." the Medic replied with a worried expression, Orion shook his head in agreement before looking back at the Commander.

"So what's the plan, we get in...grab Liara and get out."

"Not quite, you see Kasumi told us that Hock's security is extremely tight at the best of times. His usual hangout is the planet Bekenstien, but while he is at his penthouse...which he also owns the skyscraper that it is part of, his security is over the top." Rodimus said back as the holo-screens showed blueprints of the building's layout.

"I guess that is because this is a Federation world, and yet he is still allowed to reside here. I guess the reputation of Illium is deserved, it's just Omega with a fancy makeover." Nightracer replied.

"The Federation has been trying to change that, but it is a continual struggle." Red-Alert said back.

"So what's the plan?" Orion asked.

"Well tonight, Hock will be holding a party for all his friends. Basically all the liars, cheats and scumbags you can imagine." the Medic continued.

"We are to infiltrate the party under the guise of guests, locate Liara and extract her." the Commander added as Red-Alert gestured to the clothes rack next to her.

"Also dress code is 'black-tie'." she said as both Orion and Nightracer looked at the two black tuxedos and two dresses in the rack.

"It would appear that Kasumi has a good eye, these look they are our sizes." The Femme spoke as she studied the dark purple dress.

"This one's mine." she stated with a smile before unhooking it from the rack, and walking off to find someplace to change in private. Rodimus then picked up his tux and looked back at Orion and Red-Alert.

"Better get yourselves ready, our sky-cars will be waiting outside for us in a few hours."

"We aren't heading all together?" the Medic asked as Orion picked up his tux.

"No, we will split up into pairings and entering the party as couples. Kasumi has already created and uploaded our fake identities to the guest list. Red-Alert, you will be with me, Nightracer will be with Orion."

The Bot nodded as he looked back to the Commander.

"Okay, I guess that makes sense. Ni and I have had a lot of practice in that regard." he said as both the Medic and Rodimus smiled back. Then the three turned around and walked in opposite directions, looking for a place to change.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

The sun was starting its descent beyond the horizon on Illium, giving off an orangy-red color to the evening sky. A blue sky-car could be seen weaving it's way through the traffic in one of the many sky-ways that filled up the air-space above the city of Nos Astra, the only real obstacles to the traffic being the skyscrapers that carried on towering over them and the city. Inside the said vehicle, Orion wearing his black tuxedo was piloting with Nightracer sitting in the passenger seat. She was wearing the purple dress and holding a small purse on her lap.

"You look great Ni, it's been a long time since I last saw you like that." the Bot said as he gave the Femme a quick glance and smile, before returning his attention to the traffic ahead of them. Nightracer smiled back and looked him up and down, before running a hand through her black hair.

"You scrub up nicely too Orion, and wasn't it for our last Prom dances that we last dressed like this."

"Yeah, there weren't many kids I knew of that had the chance to go to two dances." the Bot replied.

"Well that was only because we both went to different schools, didn't let that stop us from dating though did it." the Femme said back while looking out of the side window at the setting sun.

"Hell no, there were a lot of obstacles that we had in our way, which we ignored. My parents among them." Orion said as he pulled their vehicle alongside one of the much larger refueling transports as they continued down the sky-way.

"I remember your Mother's disapproval about me because of my own family, so why did she give up in the end?" the Femme asked, a curious tone in her voice as she looked back at Orion.

"Because in the end, my parents wanted me to be happy. And when they saw that I was happy with you, they let us be." the Bot replied.

"Yeah, we had a good run didn't we, but 'all good things'..."

"Well It doesn't matter, because I feel lucky that we are still close friends. Not many people can say that about their exes." Orion said with a smile, earning a similar look from the Femme.

"I feel the same way Orion." before the Bot pointed to the fall skyscraper just aways ahead of them.

"There it is, so what our cover names again?" he said as Nightracer brought up the information on her holo-tool.

"Our names are John and Jessica Shepard, despite our young age, we run a very successful smuggling operation out of Omega though we are based on Thessia. Apparently we we good friends with Aria T'Loak." she said as Orion brought their sky-car out of the sky-way and flew it over to one of the landing pads on the skyscraper that connected to the large windowed penthouse that over looked the Nost Astra skyline. A security Mech stood on the platform and waved them down, Orion nodded and slowly and easily landed the vehicle before opening it's canopy which lifted up and allowed them to exit it. The bot then got up and adjusted his tux before walking over to Nightracer's side and offering her his hand. The Femme smiled and took his hand, Orion helped her up from her seat and revealed the dress she was wearing more fully. It was a backless dark purple one piece that showed off her athletic physique.

"Thank you." she said with a smile before the Mech walked up to them.

"Please show your invitations and identify yourselves." it asked in a toneless and mechanized voice.

"The name is Shepard, John Shepard. And this is my wife Jessica." Orion replied with a calm and charismatic tone, which would have been lost on the Mech who looked at the invitations that Nightracer handed to it from her purse.

"These are the correct invitations, I will let Mr Hock know of your arrival. Have a good evening."

The Mech then walked away, toward another sky-car that was hovering above the next landing pad. Orion then offered his arm to Nightracer who slipped hers around his, before they walked over to the penthouse entrance. The doorway was guarded by two mercenaries, one at either side as the doors opened and a medium built Caucasian man in a flashy white suit walked over toward the couple, he also had a finely cut mustache. Orion recognised him from the images shown during the mission briefing earlier as the arms dealer that now 'owned' Liara T'Soni, the woman they were here to rescue.

"John Shepard, welcome to my home away from home." the Man said as the two males shook hands.

"Donovan Hock, pleasure to meet you. This is my wife Jessica." the bot said while gesturing to Nightracer, Hock looked the Femme up and down and smiled before taking her hand and kissing it gently.

"It is a pleasure, you look absolutely beautiful my dear. Your presence here is greatly appreciated."

Nightracer feigned a smile before taking her hand back.

"Thank you, the pleasure is mine." she said back, though really this guy made her skin crawl.

"Well I have more guests to meet and greet so please, enjoy the party." Hock replied before the couple walked into the penthouse.

"Well so far so good, I take it Rodimus and Red-Alert are already inside?" Orion asked as they walked down a corridor that separated the entrance from the rest of the penthouse.

"Yes, they arrived several minutes ago. Though we can't make contact with them physically, so that we don't blow our cover. We should be able to communicate with the com-links hidden just inside our ear canals." the Femme replied as Orion began messing with his ear.

"Stop touching your ear." she said softly but firmly, not wanting to gain the attention of the mercs guarding the door ahead of them.

"But it's itching." the bot replied as he continued to mess with his ear. Nightracer noticed the mercs were looking at them, so she turned to Orion and pulled him into a kiss while also moving his hand away from his ear, out of view of the mercs. After a moment she pulled away slightly, their faces only an inch apart, her smile faded slightly as the bot looked at her with a surprised expression.

"What was th..." he started to say before she interrupted him.

"Don't touch your ear, or else the mercs here will be the least of your worries...understand."

"So you kiss me and then you threaten me... this is turning into a real marriage." he replied gently as he felt the mercs eyes on them still.

"Well how else do I maintain our cov..." she said before he pulled her back into another kiss, this time surprising the Femme who quickly adapted and returned the kiss.

"What?" she replied with a confused tone after they pulled away.

"Just playing my role, you taste nice by the way. Is that a flavored lipstick your wearing?" he asked, earning an eye roll from Nightracer before they carried on towards the door. Both mercs now resigned to the fact that the pair were a married couple.

"Men!" the Femme sighed as the doors opened and revealed the party that was being held in the massive ball room in front of them.

"Here we go." Orion said as the couple then entered the room.


	7. Chapter 7

 

Orion and Nightracer entered the large ballroom which had multiple light sources, shining multi-coloured lights in different directions all over the room. There was two levels to the room, both had a dance floor but the bar was only on the ground floor. There was also numerous sofas and chairs scattered about the place as well as an all Asari band playing music which could be heard loudly around the entire room. The ballroom was also filled with scores of guests, made up of what looked like nearly every species in the galaxy. There were Asari, Turian, Salarian, Huma and Volus, as well as the very large Elcor and jellyfish like Hanar. Nightracer chuckled which caught Orion's attention.

"What?" he said back with a slightly confused expression.

"Have you ever seen an Elcor dance?" the Femme replied as Orion watched the large lumbering creature standing there on all fours as the party carried on around him.

"No, but I guess it would clear the dance floor if it did."

"That's one way to put it." Nightracer replied as the pair walked past an Asari dancer who was entertaining a group of guests with her fluid moves, while standing atop a raised table in the middle of them. They were several dancers positioned around the room that Orion noticed as he and Nightracer walked towards a Hanar that was sitting down on a sofa in a relaxed state with an Asari at either side of it, draping it's tentacles around them.

"What were you saying about your Enkindlers again." one Asari asked it as she took a sip of her drink.

"This one is familiar with Enkindlers, this one would like to enkindle the two of you as this one has enkindled multiple females across the galaxy."

Nightracer heard the jellyfish and looked back at the grouping.

"Where have I heard that before?" she asked in a curious tone, earning the bot's attention.

"We would very much like that Blasto. Did you know we are twins." the other Asari said back, while the Femme watched in wide eyed shock.

"That's Blasto, I don't believe it."

"Yeah that's him, the stupid jellyfish stays in character even after they stop filming." the Bot replied, earning a dagger stare from Nightracer. Orion had forgotten how much of a fan she was of the Blasto series, stringing him along to every...single...movie when they were together. The blue haired Bot simply sighed.

"Okay, taken back." he replied sheepishly, making the Femme smile slightly and nudge his shoulder.

"It's okay, I know you were never really a fan of those movies. But that reminds me, I recently downloaded a copy of 'Blasto Eight: Blasto goes to War'."

Orion rolled his eyes at the mention of it before looking around the room, trying to find something in which to change the subject.

"You just acknowledged that I don't like the films, but you still carried on with the same subject." he said back, the Femme shook her head in response.

"No, I found a deleted scene in the movies extras. It had your Dad in it, along with Grimlock."

Orion suddenly felt very uncomfortable, because if there was a worse topic to talk about than Blasto, then it was his Father.

"Alright, we can watch it when we next have some free time..." he replied while taking two glasses of wine from a Turian waitress as she passed them, then handing one to the Femme.

"...but in the meantime, can we concentrate on our mission please." he finished before taking long drink from his glass, surprising Nightracer before she realised that she had put her foot in her mouth.

"Sure, Orion. Let's find the others first."

The pretending couple then made their way slowly through the crowd, which was beginning to heave since even more guests had turned up in the time since they had. Orion and Nightracer walked up a spiral staircase to the next level, stopping at the platform's edge and looking out at the floor below, the whole room now in their sights. After a moment of looking at all the faces, Nightracer pointed over to sofa nearest the stage.

"There they are." she said as Orion looked over to see both Rodimus and red-Alert leaning against the wall and watching the crowd. The Commander was in his tux and the medic was wearing her dress, but both of them looked almost like machines as they watched everyone blankly. Orion tapped a button on his shirt which then activated the hidden com-link in his ear.

"I see you."

The second couple suddenly looked alert as they looked around like a pair of Meerkats.

"Orion, where are you and Nightracer?" the Commander replied.

"Try the second level directly in front of you, you can't miss us." the Bot replied, so the couple looked up until they were looking directly at Orion and Nightracer, the former did a small wave as he smiled at them.

"You know, the two of you stick out like a saw thumb." The Femme said before taking a sip of her drink.

"We are here to find Liara T'Soni, not get plastered. Unlike the two of you seem to be heading." the Commander said back as he noticed the glasses in their hands as they leaned on the railing.

"This is the only drink we will be having, but it looks less conspicuous to be seen drinking and looking like you enjoying yourselves rather than being a pair of wallflowers." Orion replied, earning a nod from Red-Alert.

"I said that, but Rodimus overruled me." she replied as the Commander looked more uncomfortable than before.

"Come now Rodimus, I swore I saw you enjoying yourself at that party years back." a familiar voice interjected over the com-link. It was a voice they all recognised now.

"Kasumi, why am I not surprised that you would be here." Orion said as he looked away from the others and scanned the room with his eyes, earning a chuckle from the Thief.

"Well I have to help ensure that your mission is successful still, and I can only do that from inside the party. Plus there are a lot of opportunities for a Thief here...mmm that is a nice diamond necklace that Asari Matriarch is wearing."

"Kasumi..." Orion replied, while noticing that Nightracer was keeping calm this time around the thief.

"Oh, alright. I'll play nice this time, but only because you look good in a tux." Kasumi said back before going quiet. Then just as Nightracer was about to say something, the lead singer of the band spoke into her microphone and gained the attention of everyone in the room.

"We are the Faunts-Zero and this next song is from a decade that Humans call the eighties, and has been requested by our gracious host...Donovan Hock." she said out loud, which was followed by a round of applause from the guests as a spotlight shown down to illuminate the weapons dealer who bowed before them all. The Asari singer then turned back to her group for a moment before suddenly the ballroom was flooded by music as the band began the song. Orion looked on as the Asari singer turned back around and began to sing.

_"No control, walk right in too close to feel the pain. I'm lost in you. Oh, now you strike the match and light the flame. My hearts a blaze, I feel the heat of your desire,_

_I just can't face the fire."_

Suddenly as the music levels heightened to deafening levels, guests started dancing as the whole band sang the chorus.

_"You've got me burnin', You've got me burnin' ,You've got me burnin' in the third degree."_

The song carried on as Orion smiled and began tapping his foot to the beat. Nightracer noticed this and gave him a curious look.

"What is it?"

"I didn't realise Hock had such good taste in music." the Bot replied, the Femme though just rolled her eyes and shook her head in response.

"What is it with you and eighties music?"

"Hey, I'm not allowed to bash Blasto. So it's only fair you don't get to bash great music." Orion replied with a slight smile.

"Good point, consider it dropped." Nightracer said as she eyed his empty glass.

"Want another drink?"

"Sure, I think one more will be alright" the bot replied before she turned and headed over to one of the waitresses that were carrying drinks around for he guests. Nightracer was about to pick up two more drinks when her con-link beeped and Kasumi spoke.

"Nightracer?"

"Yes..." the Femme replied flatly.

"I want you to know that I heard yours and Orion's conversation earlier and..." the Thief said before Nightracer's eyes narrowed and her face looked like Thunder.

"Really don't know what privacy means, do you?"

"Yes I do, but I normally ignore it. It's a bad habit I am trying to break." Kasumi replied, which the Femme responded with a knowing expression.

"Okay...not really." the Thief said back honestly as if she could see the Femme's face...and she probably could. Nightracer nearly smiled at the reply, feeling her armour crack slightly with the Thief.

"I just wanted to say I understand what you and your Mother went through, and that I am sorry you had to suffer through that. I am glad that the ones responsible were stopped." Kasumi said, that honest tone still there.

"Thank you." The Femme replied.

"Alright, I better check on our ride and ensure it is secure." the Thief said back.

"Okay, be careful. Nightracer answered.

"You too." Kasumi replies before ending the conversation. The Femme then picked up two glasses of wine and turned back to Orion and noticed that the Bot was staring at a particular area of the room.

"Guys I think I see her, I think I see Liara." he said as he looked at an Asari who was dancing on a table in front of several men, all of which looked shady to say the least. At this point Faunts-Zero had nearly finished the song as the singer started the final part.

_"Can't stop my body's aching, hear those words, there's no mistaking, I'm the victim of your passion, Now you're burning' too."_

Then the band sang the chorus for the final time as suddenly the Asari turned around on the table, looked up and locked eyes with Orion. The two of them just stared at each other as the world seemed to slow around the Bot.

_'She's beautiful.'_ he thought to himself, Orion had seen images of her during the briefing, but seeing Liara in person was something else. The Bot was so caught up in his own thoughts he had not noticed that Nightracer had joined his side, causing the Asari to then turn back round to face the group watching her from their seats.

"That's her then?" the Femme asked, snapping Orion out of his own mind.

"Ye...yeah it is." he replied feeling a little flustered. Nightracer gave him a curious look before turning her attention to the Asari, who was still dancing as the song went into a guitar solo.

"She looks relatively unharmed...Red-Alert, Dr T'Soni is about fifteen metres to the east of you and Rodimus."

Down on the lower floor, the Medic nodded to acknowledge that she heard the Femme before looking in the direction she was told. She saw the Asari dancing there before gaining Rodimus's attention.

"Right, I am going to take a scan of Liara's vitals." Red-Alert said as she places her hands behind her back and activated her holo-tool.

"How are you going to do that without going up to the Asari and using your holo-tool, bringing attention to yourself?" Nightracer asked from the upper level.

"I am going to use the holo-lens interface that my holo-tool has been upgraded with." the medic replied as she pressed one button on her holo-tool then a second later, her irises went from her natural green to gold. She then looked over to the Asari as a HUD appeared in her vision and began showing information about Liara.

"How is she?" Rodimus asked as he noticed a worried expression on his Medic's face.

"This is bad, Liara has sustained multiple injuries to her body over the last month." the Femme replied as the data showed up on her HUD.

"You sure, we can't see any bruises or cuts on her person." Nightracer asked over the link.

"They are there, believe me. I would hypothesize that her unwillingness to obey the slavers when they attempted to 'educate' her resulted in a more painful approach, one that would not leave any lasting marks on the body. They would want to be able to sell her after all." the Medic.

"And she is still disobeying even now." Nightracer added, earning a curious look from Orion.

"How do you mean?" he asked, making the Femme point at the Asari.

"Look at the way she is dancing, the way she moves her body to the music. There is no way that she is putting everything into what she is doing, and I have seen Asari dancing many times, they are amazing. But this is just average."

"They seem to be enjoying it all the same." the Bot replied as he pointed at the men watching Liara. Nightracer in response, raised an eyebrow at Orion.

"They are men."

Both bots cringed inside at the Femme's comment.

"That was a bit below the belt Ni." Orion replied with a slightly hurt tone.

"I agree." Rodimus quickly added, making Red-Alert shake her head.

"it doesn't matter, all that does is that Liara has not been broken yet. And that is good news, it means that she is strong. So why don't we figure out how to rescue her."

"Your right, so we should..." Rodimus began to say across the link before Orion interrupted him.

"Wait, there is someone joining the group watching her."

The team the looked to see Donovan Hock walk right up to the Asari, ignoring the looks of the men who had been watching her.

"What is being said?" Nightracer asked.

"We can't get any closer to hear them." Orion added, earning a smile from Red-Alert.

"No need for that, these lens also have a lip reading program installed. I will link up your com-links to hear them." she said before using her holo-tool, out of view of the over guests, to activate the mode. The medic then looked directly at the weapons dealer as he spoke to Liara and the group around her.

"Ah, my Blue Rose. Time for you and I to be alone I think." Hock said as he offered Liara his hand, while the men sitting around her booed.

"If you don't like it, then you can leave. I am the Host and I will decide which pretty lady gets to join me in private. Now go and enjoy the other girls." Hock replied as he took her hand an pulled her off the table. Liara tried to struggle but then the weapons dealer activated his holo-tool and gave her a calm, yet stern expression.

"Now, now. Don't be like that, or else you know what will happen next."

Liara, who suddenly had a worried expression on her face reached up to a device that was on her neck with her free hand. The device activated with tiny blue lights appearing on its edges.

"That is a biotic clamp, it stops Asari from using their Biotics." Red-Alert observed.

"I think it must be more than that, Because it definitely has Liara worried." Orion said from his and Nightracer's vantage point on the second level.

"Agreed, it must also contain some kind of deterrent, something to stop whoever is wearing it from fighting back." the Medic added, which made Nightracer close her eyes and shake her head in disgust.

"We have to get her out of there."

Orion placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a sight smile.

"We will. So Rodimus, what's the plan?" Orion asked as he looked between the Commander and Liara, who was beginning to leave the room with Hock.

"Red-Alert and I are blocked off and can't reach the two in time, but you and Nightracer are not. Go and get Liara back while we secure the escape route." Rodimus replied as he and the medic started to move away.

"Roger that." Orion said back before both he and Nightracer made their way downstairs and through the crowd toward the doorway that Hock had taken Liara through.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Once through, the pair found themselves in a corridor and Hock and Liara were just ahead of them as they entered a room with a merc guarding it.

"Okay, so how do we get passed the guard?" Nightracer asked as the pair looked on from the cover of a another doorway.

"Well, we need to distract Hock and get him away from Liara, and it has to be someone who will not raise suspicion from Hock or his mercs." Orion replied before looking directly at the Femme. Nightracer sighed as she knew where he was going with this.

"Really, that's your plan."

"He showed an obvious interest in you when we met him outside, I think we should take advantage of that." the Bot replied.

"He makes my skin crawl." the Femme countered.

"Well you don't need to do anything with him, just keep his attention on you." Orion said back.

"That won't be hard, I think he leers professionally for a living." Nightracer replied.

"See, then it will be easy. You won't even need to take your dress off in that case." the Bot joked, making the Femme shake her head in response.

"Funny Orion, that is very reassuring. Alright, I am ready." Nightracer said as she took a breath and started to walk up to merc guarding the door, Orion watching from the door way. The merc saw the Femme walking up to him and so put his hand out to stop her.

"Excuse me Miss, this area is off limits."

"But I was told this was where Donovan went." Nightracer replied with a curious tone.

"It was, but Mr Hock does not want to be disturbed, so I will have to ask you to leave." the merc said back, when suddenly the door behind him opened and Hock appeared.

"What is going on out he..." he started to say before laying eyes on the Femme, a smile slowly growing on his face.

"This guest was looking for you Mr Hock." the merc said, but the weapons dealer had barely noticed. Unable to take his eyes off Nightracer.

"Yes it is fine." Hock said with barely a glance at the merc, keeping his attention on the Femme standing in front of him.

"As you were." Hock said as the merc returned to his duty and guarded the door.

"So Mrs Shepard, how can I help you?" he asked, trying to sound suave, which only made Nightracer cringe on the inside. But she kept up the pretense regardless, though the Femme doubted he would of noticed since he was spending more time ogling her cleavage, the dress did show it off to well unfortunately.

"Well I was hoping that you and I could share a drink." she replied, which earned a curious look from Hock as his eyes were snapped back to meet hers.

"What about 'Mr Shepard', I doubt he would like to find out that his wife is spending time with another Man."

Nightracer faked a seductive smile as she placed a hand on his chest.

"I doubt he would notice, John is busy getting drunk and begging the dancers for a lap dance."

"I see, ...I did have other plans of course..." Hock began to say before Nightracer placed a finger on his lips.

"Put them on hold, at least for the next few hours." she said with a look of hunger in her eyes that suddenly made the corridor feel very warm to Hock who gulped. She even caught he attention of the merc who had taken sneaky looks between the pair as they spoke.

"Alright then." he replied with an excited smile, before he then took her hand and started to walk away. Orion had been listening from his hiding spot, the Bot smiled as he peeped around the doorway and saw the two of then begin to move away.

_'Damn, she is good at that. Totally had me believing it too.'_ he thought before ducking away as Hock turned back to the merc, getting close enough to whisper.

"Ensure that 'she' doesn't get out of that room, understand?"

"Yes sir." the merc replied as the pair walks off down the corridor.

Orion waited in the doorway for an extra few minutes, not wanting to make the next move to soon. But he didn't want to leave it too long either, or Nightracer may end up in trouble if she is pressured too much from Hock. So the bot looked at the time on his holo-tool and then smiled.

"Showtime."

The guard stood at the door where Liara was being held, his posture confident and secure in himself. He didn't even look like he might blink, let alone make any kind of drastic movement while on guard duty. That was a sign of a man completely committed to his job, but then he heard a stumbling sound and looked to see a blue haired man in a tuxedo getting back to his feet just a further down the corridor. By the look of the individual, he was completely intoxicated. Barely able to stay on his feet, let alone do anything else.

"Hey you... Guard...man." the drunken guy slurred.

"Excuse me sir, but this is a restricted area. I have to ask that you return to the party." the merc replied, which made the drunk stop and look at him in a confused way.

"Have you seen my...my wife, she is...this tall and...really pretty."

The merc knew exactly who he was on about, but had to play dumb for his boss.

"No, now return to the party." he said in a firm tone.

"But...I know she's...she's around here, I...saw her enter...this pla...area." the drunk slurred again.

"You are mistaken, now leave this area." the merc said again.

"I...am...not, and I...am not going any...mmmm where, without my...wife."

The merc found that this drunk was really testing his patience now as he looked down at him.

"Yes you are..., and I think your wife will be much happier where she is...believe me. Now get out of here." the merc said as he pushed the drunken man who fell back against the wall.

"Don't...you touch..me!...now take...me to...my wife, or I'll...I'll..."

The merc took a step toward the drunk as he fought to stay on his feet, clearly half foot taller than the blue haired man.

"Or you'll what? Throw up, pass out? What could you possibly do to me?" he asked with a smile, almost chuckling at this drunk's behavior. The drunk merely looked at the ground with his head bowed.

"Or...I'll...kick your...ass." he slurred.

The look of bemusement suddenly left the merc's face as he narrowed his eyes at the drunken blue haired man and gritted his teeth.

"I've had about as much as I can take from you, you little shit. Now listen here, your wife is going to get the fucking of her life tonight by Mr Hock. It will be so good, she won't remember where she is or that she was ever married to such a sack of shit like yourself. Now LEAVE!"

The merc then threw a punch at the drunk, but his fist was stopped as the blue haired man caught it in his hand. The merc's expression was one of shock as the man looked up at him, his face now completely calm and devoid of any of the signs that he was drunk.

"Actually, I think Mr Hock is going to be in for one hell of a shock. As for you..." Orion said as he twisted the merc's hand, bringing the big guard to his knees with a grimace.

"...we can do this the easy or the hard way, now open that door." the Bot added as he pointed at the door to Liara's room.

"Fuck you!" the merc spat, which earned a sigh from Orion.

"Okay, easy way it is." he replied before punching the guard in the chest, making him bend down and cough up as his chest constricted. The Bot then slammed him face first into the wall in front of him, knocking the merc unconscious. The Spectre then downloaded the key with his holo-tool from the guard and opened the door to Liara's room and walked in.

As he entered the room, Orion saw a basic bed and furniture setup but no sign of Liara. That was when dawned on him, as just as he was looking to his right. A blue fist connected directly with his cheek, knocking him off balance slightly as the one that hit him ran past and out of the room.

"Wait.." Orion said back as he felt his sore cheek, but as soon as he turned back around he noticed that she hadn't gotten very far. The Bot saw the Asari standing over the unconscious merc's body, looking at it with a confused expression.

"Wait, I am here to help." Orion said as he joined her in the corridor, the blue Woman looking back at him with slight embarrassment in her face.

"I am sorry, I thought you were one of the men that 'Pig' had sent to use me."

"No Dr T'Soni, my team and I are here to rescue you." Orion replied, earning a relieved look from the Asari.

"Thank the goddess, I was hoping that..." she began to say before looking directly at him. Orion then suddenly felt very awkward at the way the Asari was examining him with her eyes, but in a good way of course.

"What?" he said as his cheeks started to redden slightly, earning a smile from Liara.

"Have we already met? Because you look familiar."

"We haven't met before today, I'm sorry to say." Orion said back with a slight smile, which was mirrored by the Asari.

"What's your name?"

"Orion Darby, Autobot Spectre second class." the Bot replied.

"Darby?...you wouldn't be related to Jackson Prime, the Autobot leader?" Liara asked with a curious tone.

"Yes..." the bot replied as he looked back down the corridor, not wanting her to see the annoyance now on his face at the mention of that name.

"...he is my father."

"Really, you know I met your Parents once many years ago." the Asari replied, yet Orion did not look back to her which only confused her.

"What is it?"

"We should get moving, don't want to get caught by Hock's security now do we." Orion replied while trying to keep it professional, and while Liara could not see his face at this moment, she could definitely sense a change in his behavior since she asked about his father. Now this had caught her curiosity, but the Asari knew that this wasn't the right time for a Q & A so she decided to leave it for now.

"Your right, I do not wish to stay in this place a moment longer."

The Bot finally looked back at her and gave her a slight smile.

"Alright, let's get mov..." he began to say before a mother voice interrupted them from just aways of the pair.

"Hey you!" a merc shouted as he ran up to them from the other end of the corridor.

"Get behind me." the bot said as he stepped in front Liara. The merc equipped a baton and swung it at Orion, who ducked under it before kneeing him in the chest, then upper-cutting the merc while he was bent over. As the merc fell to the floor, Orion then looked back at the Asari. His eyes going wide as he saw another merc coming up behind her.

"Look out!" he shouted, making Liara turn and face the enemy as she raised her hand to him, but when nothing happened she remembered that her Biotics were still being suppressed by the device round her neck and so would have to deal with this guy the old fashioned way. Orion began moving to aid her, but then as the merc swung his baton at her, the Asari blocked it before kicking him in the groin and then upper-cutting him in the face as he fell to his knees while cradling his crown jewel, sending him sprawling onto the floor. Liara then turned round to see Orion looking at her in surprise.

"What? I may be an Archaeologist, but that doesn't mean I can't fight. I did serve in the Reaper war." she said back in return. The Bot merely smiled at her.

"That was impressive, though don't you want that removed?" he asked as he pointed at the biotic clamp around her neck.

"Are you able too?"

Orion then activated his holo-tool and unlocked the device, which Liara then tore off her neck and dropped.

"Thank you." she said back as she clenched her fist, it began glowing with biotic energy for a moment as Orion watched.

"Let's get out of here." the bot said as he offered her his hand, which she took gladly before they headed down the corridor, Orion activating his com-link as they moved.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

In another room just a bit further away, Nightracer was sitting down on a luxurious couch as Hock was standing at the mini-bar, putting the final touches to two cocktails.

"I hope you like 'Eternity', it's an exotic cocktail created by the Asari."

"Sounds nice." the Femme replied as Hock walked back to the couch and handed her one of the glasses.

"It also has a reputation of being quite the aphrodisiac." he added before taking a drink of the blue liquid. Nightracer through just held onto the glass and looked at him with a smile.

"Do you really think that I am going to need that?"

Hock downed the cocktail in one go, before savoring the taste in his mouth. He then looked back at her, his eyes leering over her entire figure. Inside her body right now, Nightracer was clawing the walls. But she had to keep up the charade for a moment or two longer.

"Well, wouldn't you like to have a taste anyway. It is a very expensive cocktail to say the least." Hock replied a little too eagerly for her liking.

"I would rather have a taste of you." the Femme said back with an alluring look, which earned a large smile from the man.

"Now that's what I like to hear." he beamed before leaning in close to Nightracer who did the same, hoping that this would end really, very soon and that she would not need to go further. Then as if Primus had heard her unspoken plea himself, the Femme's com-link activated as their lips were about to meet, making her stop just short of the kiss.

"Package secure, we are leaving now." Orion could be heard saying on the other end, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Hock gave Nightracer a confused look while she just stared at him blankly.

"Jessica, don't tell me you've had second thoughts." he said worriedly.

"Yes, I shouldn't be here. I am very sorry." the Femme replied as placed the glass on the table in front of them, she then got up only for Hock to grab her by the arm. His grip was tight and as she looked back at him, his smile was slowly fading as something more sinister took the place.

"Where do you think your going?" he said back coldly, surprising Nightracer.

"Let go of me, that hurts." she replied as the weapons dealer pulled her back onto the couch.

"I don't think so, was this some little game to make yourself feel better about yourself. Butter me up so that I fawn over you, only to take it away at the last moment."

His expression was now very cold and stern as his grip on her forearm tightened that bit more.

"I will take that which you were so willing to offer not so long ago, before tossing you back to your dead beat Husband." Hock added as he reached out to the back of her head so that he could force a kiss, but then Nightracer grabbed his head and slammed it into the table in front of them leaving a large crack in it's top.

"you don't ever get to touch me, you son of a bitch." the Femme replied as Hock began crawling on the floor very slowly, obviously suffering a concussion from the surprise attack. Nightracer got up and stopped him, turning him on to his back. He looked up at her with blood soaking the lower half of his face from the broken nose he now had.

"What...what are you...doing?" he managed to ask as she looked down at him with disdain.

"Making sure you can't call for help." she replied before punching him in the race, rendering him unconscious. The Spectre then tidied herself up before opening the door and leaving the room.

Orion and Liara turned a corner to spot a female stepping out of one of the doorways ahead of them, the Asari immediately readying herself for a fight. But the bot stopped her.

"It's okay, she is with me." he said which calmed Liara down as she looked over to the Femme.

"Liara T'Soni meet Nightracer, Autobot Spectre second class...like me." he said as the Femme nodded to the Asari.

"Let's get you out of here Doctor." she said as Orion looked back at the door she had just exited.

"Where's Hock?"

"He is currently sleeping off the concussion I gave him." Nightracer replied.

"So you didn't kill that bastard of a man." Liara asked with anger underlining her words, warning a sympathetic look from the Femme.

"He is a nasty piece of work...but no, I did not kill him."

"I would have." the Asari replied coldly, which surprised Orion somewhat though it really shouldn't have.

"I might have too, had I gone through what you had experienced Doctor. But that was not the mission." Nightracer said back to Liara with an honest tone, the Asari nodding in return before both females returned their attention to Orion.

"So what's the plan? Where are Rodimus and Red-Alert?" Nightracer asked.

"They told me that Kasumi has hacked Hock's internal security and has given us a clear path to his garage, the others are waiting for us in the back lobby of this building, so we should go meet up with them." Orion replied, earning a nod in return from the Femme, though Liara looked at what the female Spectre was wearing with a curious expression.

"I do not mean to offend, but can you even fight in that dress?" she asked. Nightracer gave the Asari a knowing smile before bending over and exposing a hidden zip at the bottom of the dress, and by pulling it up she then showed that the lower part of the dress was detachable and pulled it off to reveal a somewhat shorter but easier to move in skirt that came down to just above her knees.

"How's that?" she the asked them as she stood there in front of the pair.

"Nice." Orion replied, mirroring the Femme's smile.

"Very practical." Liara said back with a smile.

"Okay, let's go." Nightracer said before the three of them carried on to the rendezvous.

In the back lobby of the penthouse, both Rodimus and Red-Alert stood in front of what was a large staircase that led to the second floor of the room. There were more than a few doors at either end of the area, though there was only one that connected to the garage.

"How long did Kasumi say she could keep Hock's security offline?" the Bot asked, looking somewhat restless where he stood.

"For about another seven minutes, give or take ten seconds." the Medic replied as she looked at her holo-tool.

"I really wish I had my pistol with me right now." Rodimus said with a hint of regret in his voice.

"Remember what Kasumi said during the briefing, we can only keep weapons on us that we could conceal. Unfortunately firearms were not among that criteria since Hock's security system could detect them. Besides we still had our holo-tool upgrades." the medic replied as Rodimis looked at his own holo-tool.

"Yeah, I have 'Cryo-blast' and 'Incinerate' options. What do you have?"

"I have the 'Holo-Bow' that is capable of firing energy arrows." Red-Alert replied just as Orion, Nightracer and Liara entered the room.

"Nice for you to join us." Rodimus said before setting his eyes on Liara.

"Doctor T'Soni, this way if you please." the Commander added as the group started for the door leading to the garage.

"Stay where you are!" a disguised voice suddenly called out, surprising the group as they turned to see a lone female soldier wearing white and blue light armour. They could not see her face due to the helmet that she worn or identify her by voice due to the voice disguised that was installed in said helmet. She stood there as a Drell and a Chinese soldier joined her.

"We want Doctor T'Soni, hand her over and you will be spared."

"Who are you to make demands of us, or do you really want to take on a group of 'Autobot Spectres'?" Rodimus replied confidently.

"Yeah, it's not like we don't have you outnumbered four to three." Nightracer added with a hint of sarcasm, but the masked female soldier merely stood her ground.

"I think you will find that it is you who are outnumbered...Now!" she then said as the air around the Spectres suddenly distorted to reveal a whole group of phantom class soldiers surrounding them and blocking their escape route.

"Personal cloaking devices." Red-Alert said as the phantoms aimed their rifles at the group.

"Agent Zero, we have them dead to rights." the lead phantom said, earning a look of surprise from Rodimus.

"Agent Zero! I have heard of you, you work for the 'Shadow Broker'."

"Yes, our group was hired to liberate Doctor T'Soni and take her 'back' to our 'clients'..." Agent Zero replied which made Liara's eyes widen as she knew what that meant.

"...but you have done the hard work for us, we are grateful for that. But the Asari will be coming with us." the Agent continued.

"I am not going back to 'them'." Liara spat back to the Agent before looking back to Orion.

"You cant let her take me back to them." she said with a fearful tone, whoever this other group was...they had her scared.

"Who is this other group that wants Liara?" Orion asked as he instinctively took a step in front of the Asari as a sign of protection.

"We do not give out information on those who do dealings with us, but since your 'Thief' friend's hacking of this place's security is about to come to an end, I find that we need to end this interesting chat. Now hand her over or die!" Agent Zero said, her tone cold and final.

"You'll have to kill us." Orion replied in a similar tone, earning acknowledging looks from the rest of his comrades.

"Very well, Kill them!" the Agent ordered and the Phantoms pulled the triggers on their rifles...only for nothing to happen. The Shadow Broker's team all looked at each other as did the Drell and Chinese man, with a confused expression. One that must have been on all their faces, the Agent included inspite of them wearing their helmets.

"What the hell just happened?" she spat at the Phantoms, meanwhile Orion looked at Nightracer who smiled back at him while holding her purse in front of her.

"You brought it with you?" he whispered to the Femme, earning a confused look from the others as she nodded back.

"Brought what with you?" Rodimus whispered to her, wanting to know what had happened too.

My purse contains my extendable 'Bō staff' and a short term firearm Nullifier." Nightracer whispered back as Orion looked back to notice that Agent Zero had was looking at them.

"That was you!" she spat as Orion readied himself for a fight, Nightracer mirroring him.

"Rodimus, Red-Alert. Get Liara out of here, we'll cover you." the bot said, earning a grateful look from Liara and a surprised one from the Commander.

"Get her!" the Agent then said as the phantoms started to close the distance to the group, but then Liara began to glow with biotic energy before unleashing a blue orb of light into the air above them.

"Cover your eyes." she shouted to the Spectres a second before the orb exploded into a bright light that blinded the enemies around them.

"Go now!" Orion shouted as he kept his eyes covered for a second longer, as Rodimus and Red-Alert turned around and beat down the two disorientated phantoms that were blocking their escape. Then Orion took one last look at Liara, a smile forming on his face.

"Thanks for the assist."

"Thanks for the rescue..." she replied as she started to back towards the other two Spectres.

"...I hope to see you on your ship."

"Looking forward to it." the bot replied, knowing that deep down he really was looking forward to seeing her again, other than when she asked about his father, still a sore subject for him. But now was not the time to dwell, so he then returned his attention to the Shadow Broker's forces as Nightracer smiled at him.

"Ready for this?"

"Yep." was simply Orion's reply as the Agent recovered and looked between the Drell and the Chinese soldier.

"Krios, Leng. Get her back now."

Both me nodded before looking at the two Spectres that were left, the devices that were connected to heir foreheads now lit up with green and blue LEDs blinking on and off repeatedly.

"Here we go." Orion said as both men charged at the pair, but as both bot and Femme threw a punch and kick respectively at the two running at them. Their attacks suddenly went through Krios and Leng as the enemies phased through the pair before continuing through the door and after the others.

Orion and Nightracer gave each other worried looks before looking back at the Agent and the phantoms surrounding them.

"Kill them."

Suddenly the phantoms attacked while Agent Zero watched, as the Spectres were put on the defensive. One phantom threw a punch at Orion who blocked it before elbowing him in the chest and then roundhouse kicking the soldier n the head, sending him to the ground. Nightracer mean while had two attack her simultaneously so performed an acrobatic flip between them, landing on her feet on the other side. The Femme then launched a leg sweep, knocking both of them off their feet and then making sure their stayed down with a forty five degree roundhouse kick to their faces as they tried to recover. But then another Phantom grabbed her from behind as another went to punch her, so the Femme lifted her self up and kicked with both legs at the soldier in front.

This knocked that one away, while also sending the phantom and Nightracer flying in the opposite direction. That enemy landed on their back with a loud thud which released the Femme who was now on his chest, so she side rolled off and sweep kicked another phantom who was about to attack Orion as he threw a punch at another enemy, only to stop it a mere inch from their helmet making them gasp. He then opened his palm and smiled before punching the phantom in the stomach with his other fist and then throwing the enemy onto the hand rail of the staircase which collapsed from the impact. Nightracer then flipped back onto her feet from her back beside Orion, they both smiled at the Agent as her troops recovered around them.

"For goddesses sake, you have your katanas. Use them!"

The phantoms then pulled their blades out of the sheathes on their backs and readied themselves for round two.

"Wow, nice swords." Orion replied sarcastically as Nightracer shrugged in return.

"We have weapons too." she replied before pulling a small silver cylinder out of her purse and pressing the center of it, making it extend and reveal itself to be her bō staff. Orion meanwhile flexed his arms out to the sides revealing holo-tools that activated around his forearms, taking the form of holo-arm blades. Both Spectres then smiled and took up fighting stances before the phantoms launched another attack at them. Orion deflected a string of lunges and swipes from one phantom before slashing across his chest and neck, taking the enemy down in a quick succession of blows. While Nightracer spun her staff around her before connecting it's end with the heads of three phantoms in one blow, felling them like dominoes.

The Agent just watched in an exasperated state at the sight transporting in front of her, as her troops failed time and again to kill the two Spectres. Orion then blocked one attack while slashing the neck of another enemy, causing blood to spray out from the wound as the phantom fell to the ground. The Bot then turned back to the other and grabbed his arm, twisting it until he let go of his Katanna which Orion caught in his hand and then stabbed it back through it's owner's chest. He then pulled the blade out and spun it in his hand before quickly back thrusting it into another phantom that tried to attack him from the rear. Then as that enemy fell to the ground dead, Orion looked to see Nightracer launching herself into a jump kick with her bō staff at another phantom before his ears picked up many footfalls approaching them from the upper floor.

"Ni." he called out, gaining the Femme's attention after she landed back on her feet while the phantom fell to the ground with a thud. The bot merely pointed up the stairs, so she looked up to see more phantoms entering the lobby up there, she then noticed that Orion had clasped his hands together in front of him and she smiled, knowing what he had planned. So she ran toward the bot , stepping onto his hands and allowing him to launch her into the air and up to the second floor. The Femme grabbed hold of the hand rail with her free hand and vaulted over it to meet the four phantoms who all aimed their guns at her, but Nightracer was too quick for them as she launched a combination of kicks, punches and hits with her bō staff that took down all but one of them. He tried to shoot her with his rifle again, but the Femme merely knocked it out of his hand with the end of her staff before striking him in the face with the other end.

He stepped back and the pulled out a knife, but this didn't dissuade Nightracer who spun the staff in her hands before unleashing a series of hits to all areas of the phantom's body before upper-cutting him with the last strike, which sent him flying off the second floor and down to the ground floor below as Orion was disarming and killing another phantom. Nightracer took note that she had taken care of the enemies on this floor and looked down to see that her friend and former lover was surrounded by the last four phantoms, so she jumped and somersaulted over the hand rail and landed next to him, they then acted together as the phantoms surrounded the pair. Nightracer deflected and countered against one enemy, killing him with a blow to the head.

Orion meanwhile broke through the defence of another phantom and buried his arm blade in his face. The bot then bent over, allowing the Femme to roll over his back and switch sides with him as the last two phantom suddenly turned tail and ran. Obviously seeing all their friends being killed by just two people was too much, but they didn't get far as before they passed Agent Zero, she suddenly pulsed with biotic energy which stopped the phantoms in their tracks and snapped their necks instantly.

"Pathetic fools! If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." she spat at the two Spectres as she took up a fighting stance, her body glowing with a blue hue.

"let's see what this bitch has got then." Nightracer replied, earning a confident nod from Orion. But before anything could happen, Agent Zero suddenly received a message and so erected a biotic barrier between her and the two spectres.

"You are sure sir...very well, I will leave it to them." she said back before looking back at Orion and Nightracer.

"We will settle this another time." she stated before running out of the room as both spectres looked at each other, before Orion came to a realization as he looked wide eyed at the Femme.

"Liara and the others, come on!" he shouted before they both ran through the door that lead to the garage.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

As the battle was raging between Orion, Nightracer and the Shadow Broker's soldiers, Liara ran with all her strength down the corridor as both Rodimus and Red-Alert followed in her wake. The three of them made it to the garage which in all honesty made the ballroom look like the interior of a garden shed due to its size, and was filled with sky-cars of all makes and sizes.

"Well I guess we should pick one, but what about Orion and Nightracer?" Liara asked as she looked back at the Commander.

"They will be fine, we just need to get you out of here." he replied as Red-Alert looked back down the corridor, a worrying expression appearing on her face.

"Well pick one fast, because we have company."

Both Rodimus and Liara looked back down the corridor to see the Drell and Chinese man running toward them, so The medic activated her holo-tool which formed into a crossbow on her arm. She then fired a burst of energy arrows down the corridor at the pair, but they simply passed through the two like they were ghosts.

"They have phase shifting tech, get back here." Rodimus called to the medic before activating his holo-tool and firing a white glowing shot of energy at the doorway, which on impact sealed it in a sheet of thick ice.

"Get in that sky-car now." the Commander shouted as he then activated the black sky-car next to Liara. The Asari and the medic then climbed into the back and front passenger seats respectively, while Rodimus got into the driver's seat. He then closed the car's canopy just as both enemies phased through the ice sheet and looked over to them.

"Go, Go, Go!" Liara said in a panic as Rodimus then flew the sky-car out of the garage and into the air.

Rodimus kept the black sky-car steady as it flew between the large skyscrapers of Nos Astra, making sure or to draw anymore unnecessary attention to themselves.

"Where are we to rendezvous with the transport again?" the Commander asked, making Red-Alert activate her holo-tool.

"About a couple of miles north of our current location, Kasumi said that it would be ready and waiting us there." she replied, earning a nod from Rodimus before he steered their sky-car around a nearby skyscraper. The medic then looked back to Liara who looked a little concerned.

"What is it?"

"I can't help feeling that we haven't lost them." the Asari replied as Rodimus looked down at the driver's interface and saw a blip approaching their position very quickly.

"I think Doctor T'Soni is right." the Commander said with a tone similar to Liara's, which made both Females look back and see a red sky-car gaining on them.

"Can you lose them?" Red-Alert asked.

"I can try." Rodimus replied as he flew their vehicle into the nearby lane of the sky-way, weaving in an out of the other cars using it.

"If they don't kill us, an impact from any of these other vehicles will." the Medic said as they narrowly missed a transport while just keeping ahead of the enemy sky-car.

"Yeah I hear that can be bad for your health." the Commander replied in a joking like tone, earning an annoyed look from Red-Alert. Meanwhile Liara kept her eyes on the red sky-car as it closed on them.

"They are coming up on our right." she said as the others looked in that direction to see the enemy sky-car flying level with their own. Then just as they passed another sky-way user, the red vehicle suddenly collided with the Spectres sky-car which made Rodimus fight to keep them in the air.

"Are they trying to kill us?" Red-Alert said with a panicked tone, earning a head shake from the Commander.

"They are trying to force us down, they want Dr T'Soni alive...remember."

Then suddenly his con-link activated.

"Rodimus, What's your situation?" A familiar Male voice spoke.

"Orion..." the Commander replied, earning a smile from Liara who was relieved to hear that the Bot was alright.

"...where are you, because we are being chased by two of that Agent Zero's men on the sky-way leading to the heart of Nos Astra." Rodimus continued to say as he barely managed to keep their car steady after being rammed once again by the other one.

"Nightracer and I have acquired a sky-car and are tracking your signal, ETA three minutes." Orion replied before closing the link.

"Help is on the way." Rodimus said to the others as he brought their vehicle up along side a fuel tanker, with the enemy vehicle following them closely.

The two sky-cars continued to fly in between the heavy traffic of the sky-way, as the enemy one tried again to ram the Spectres out of the lane they were in but with out success. Liara looked out at the other sky-car and saw that Kai Leng was piloting the vehicle with Thane Krios sitting in the passenger seat, when suddenly they pulled away to the far end of the lane.

"Are they giving up?" she said as Red-Alert looked too, but then the red car veered into another vehicle just away from them. Causing it to go out of control and head straight for the Spectres.

"Look out!" the Medic cried out making the Commander pull up, narrowly missing the other vehicle as it passed under them and hit the fuel tanker which then exploded and sent debris in all directions in the lane and sending other vehicles near by into evasive action. Liara looked back in horror as some of the other cars and vehicles failed to clear the area and collided with each other in what looked like a pile up.

"By the goddess, they don't care how many they kill to get to me."

"Well maybe we should leave the sky-way, that way we can limit civilian casualties." Red-Alert said, which made Rodimus shake his head in return.

"No, we stay this course until Orion and Nightracer arrive, all we have to do...what the hell?" the Commander said as he saw the enemy car suddenly ascend above them.

"What are they doing?" the Medic asked, but then Rodimus's eyes widened as he realised what was about to happen.

"Take the controls." he said to Red-Alert as he opened up the canopy of the sky-car, exposing them to the cold air around the vehicle.

"What, I'm a doctor...not a pilot." the medic replied as Rodimus began climbing on to the roof of the vehicle.

"Just keep us steady." He simply replied back as he kept his balance and looked up to see someone phase through the bottom of the red sky-car and fall towards their own. As he fell through another sky car that had just flown between their vehicles, the Commander could tell that it was the Drell who then landed on the roof next to him. Thane then recovered quickly because he went straight for the Commander with a flurry of punches that Rodimus managed to block, but then when he attempted to counter attack with a combo of kicks and punches, the Drell either blocked them or let them phase through him.

_'How the hell am I going to beat this guy if I can't hit him'_ Rodimus thought as he again found himself on the defensive against Thane.

This fight continued for another long moment as traffic flew past barely a few feet from where they were standing, but then Thane managed to punch Rodimus in the chest, knocking him back. But the Spectre managed to recover by placing a foot on the windscreen, which made Red-Alert cringe as she tried to keep their sky-car steady. The Drell though attempted to take advantage of the Commander's situation by launching another attack with two punches, but Rodimus blocked and grabbed both hands.

"I've got you now." he said as he gritted his teeth before something caught his eye over the Drell's shoulder. Liara too had seen this as she looked at a gunship that was closing on them from the rear, she strained her eyes to focus on who was in the cockpit when suddenly she recognised the pilot.

"Six-Shot!" she gasped as the gunship's guns and missile launchers activated.

"What?" Red-Alert said while keeping her eyes on he traffic ahead.

"Evasive action now!" the Asari cried out as the gun ship fired a missile at them, earning a mortified look from the medic as the warning system blared out around her. So she brought their sky-car into a dive, which caused the missile to just miss them and make both Thane and Rodimus let to of each other and hold on to the roof of the vehicle for dead life. The missile itself hit a sky-car that was ahead of them, the explosion from it causing yet another pile up as vehicles crashed into each other while attempting to evade the devastation. Red-Alert though managers to barely keep their car flying as she weaved in and out of the traffic ahead of them, trying to keep the gunship from getting a target lock on them.

"Who the hell was that?" the medic asked as the debris from the pile up behind them fell to the ground below.

"The ones that want me back." Liara replied somewhat ominously. Meanwhile Rodimus and Thane were still holding on to the roof of the sky-car

"Red-Alert, open the canopy now." he shouted, with which the medic obeyed and activated the canopy which opened and nearly crushed the Drell's hands but he managed to go out of phase just in time and fell through their sky-car, but instead of falling downward to the ground far beneath them, he instead landed back on the roof of his and Leng's own vehicle who has been waiting there. He then phased back into his own seat next to the Chinese assassin.

"They are good." was all he said in a calm tone, earning a knowing look from Kai Leng.

"I can see that."

Meanwhile Rodimus had climbed back into the driver's seat and was now back in control of the sky-car while the gunship closed in on their rear.

"They are getting another target lock." Red-Alert warned as the interface in front of her flashed red. But just as the Predacon ship was about to fire again, a blue sky-car flew up close and rammed into the side of it, causing Six-shot to fight to keep control of it.

"Who was that?" Liara asked as she looked at the blue car as it entered formation with their own.

"You guys need a hand?" Orion then said over the intercom, earning smiles from the others.

"thanks for the assist Orion." Rodimus replied.

"Your car looks rather damaged, why not switch to ours. We have enough space." the blue haired bot said as he piloted the blue car.

"Okay everyone, time for a change of transport." the Commander said as he opened up the canopy and Orion descended the blue sky-car just below their own and opened his own canopy.

"Okay jump!" Rodimus shouted over the loud cold wind that bow around them, making both females jump off their damaged car and fall a few metres before landing in the currently convertible made sky-car.

"I am not doing that again." Liara said in a panicked state as Nightracer helped her into a seat, then Rodimus landed next to her and sat down as the canopy closed over them and Orion pulled their ride out of the sky-way and back out into the open sky.

"Signal the transport to meet us." the blue haired Spectre said in a commanding manner to Rodimus which surprised him somewhat, but he nodded and activated his holo-tool. Red-Alert looked back to see the red sky-car following them and the gunship not far behind.

"We still have company." she replied as their enemies got closer.

Meanwhile in the gunship, Six-shot began targeting the Shadow Broker's team with his missiles.

"Time to take out the competition." he said as he pulled the trigger and fired a missile right at them.

"What the!" Thane said in wide eyed shock as he saw the approaching missile, but then he noticed a maintenance platform just ahead of them and activated his Phase-Shifter. Falling out of the car and landing on the platform just in time to see the missile hit the vehicle and kill Kai Leng instantly before the gunship flew past the burning wreckage and on wards towards the Spectres.

"Okay, there is our transport dead ahead." Orion said as he brought their car up behind it as the transport opened its aft shuttle bay. But then several missiles came out of nowhere and destroyed the transport.

"What in the Allspark?" Rodimus replied as another gunship flew out of the flaming explosion, causing Orion to veer their car to the right as it was joined by Six-shot's gunship.

"Now what?" Red-Alert said as Orion kept his attention on his flying.

"Time for plan B, Nightracer..." he said calmly as the Femme nodded and activated her holo-tool.

"They are closing on us and gaining a weapons lock on us." Liara said while pointing at the flashing interface.

"Okay everyone, hold on!" Orion said as he made the sky-car dive down and weave in and out of the buildings that were packed closely together, just as both gunships opened fire with their rail guns and missiles. Each missing the car and impacting on the buildings, causing numerous explosions on their surfaces.

"Great flying." Liara said in amazement, earning a slight smile from the pilot as he brought them round the last building in that district.

"That was the last of the cover, and they are re-acquiring weapons lock on us." Nightracer said as The others looked back to see the gunships right on their tail.

"Anytime now..." Orion merely said a moment before a familiar voice spoke up over the intercom.

"Looks like you guys could do with a lift?"

Everyone other than Orion and Nightracer looked on with a surprised expression as the Normandy descended behind the gunships.

"Jetstorm, am I glad to see you." Rodimus said with relief heavy in his voice.

You should thank Orion, this was his idea. Now let me and Shen take care of those gunships tailing you." the Normandy pilot replied before the Autobot vessel fired its guns on one of the enemy ships, destroying it and making Six-shot pull away as the Normandy closes in on the sky-car.

Brace yourselves for the barn swallow." Orion warned as the Autobot ship opened it's shuttle bay door.

"Barn swallow?" Liara asked with a confused tone just as the Normandy scooped up the car into the shuttle-bay, the vehicle hitting the deck and screeching to a halt merely a foot away from the back wall. The Normandy then closed the shuttle-bay door before ascending up into high orbit, leaving Six-shot to watch from the cockpit of his gunship as it flew between the skyscrapers of the city below.

_'Scrap'_  was the only thought that came to his mind.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Liara was lying down on a berth in the Normandy's medical bay as Red-Alert attended to her injuries, injuries sustained while under the 'care' of the slavers and then Donovan Hock. The door that connected the medical bay to the rest of the ship opened, gaining the Asari's attention as she saw Nightracer and a Male Turian enter the room.

"How are you doing Liara?" the Femme asked as she smiled at Liara.

"I feel fine now Nightracer, thanks." the Asari said before Red-Alert looked up from her work.

"You are only fine now because I have healed the bruises and internal damage with my instruments here." the Medic replied as she gestured to the trolley full of medical tools next to her.

"Thank you Doctor." Liara then said with a smile, which made Red-Alert smile in return.

"You are welcome.." she replied before returning her attention to the Asari's last bruise on her arm, holding a device to it and watching as the skin heal under the yellow light it was emitting.

"...and there you go, fully healed. You are free to go Doctor T'Soni."

Liara nodded in return before sitting up and turning her attention to her two visitors. She looked at the Turian with a curious expression, one that Nightracer noticed.

"Liara, this is Shen Vakarian. He is the same class of Spectre as Orion and myself."

Shen and the Asari then shook hands.

"Pleasure to meet you Doctor T'Soni." the Turian greeted.

"Thank you but please, just call me Liara." she replied.

" So, you may not know this. But I was the one who shot down the second gunship that was targeting your vehicle back on Illium." Shen replied with a confident tone, but Nightracer merely crossed her arms and stared at him.

"Really, that was some good shooting too. Did you happen to calibrate the weapons system before you used it?"

Shen just looked blankly at her while Liara watched them both with a bemused expression, before the Turian finally spoke again.

"Oh...I get it, just because my Dad was well known for 'calibrating' the weapon systems of both the original Normandy and the Defiant, then you would think that I'd be like that too."

Nightracer responded with a nod and a large smile on her face, one that Shen then mirrored.

"Well sorry to disappoint, but I joined the Autobots to be a sniper."

"I bet your Dad gave you hell for that career choice." the Femme asked, gaining a nod from the Turian.

"You bet, my Dad said...'Son, you will never get anywhere in life unless you know how to repair and maintain big cannons'..." making both Females chuckle as he did his best impression of his Father, Garrus Vakarian.

"...and I said 'but Dad, I just like firing them so isn't that enough?'. And before he had the chance to reply, my Mum who had been eaves dropping on our conversation said 'Of course, as long as your happy that's all that matters...now will both of you get outside and repair the sky-car...' this caught me and Dad completely by surprise."

Both Nightracer and Liara just listened intently as Shen continued with his story.

"...I then said to Mum 'but what about doing just what makes you happy?', and she replied 'sometimes life is a bosh'tet...now get on with it.'"

All three laughed as Red-Alert turned round from her console.

"That is very true...but I do have a lot of work to do, so could you please vacate my medical bay please."

The three new friends shrugged and did what the Medic asked.

"Well why don't we go to the Mess Hall, since Rodimus is still being debriefed by Jackson Prime." Nightracer asked as they left the room and entered one of the Normandy's corridors, earning nods from Shen and Liara. The Asari then looked back at the Turian curiously.

"You sound very close to your parents Shen." she asked earning a nod from him.

"Yeah, we're very close. I mean even though they are only my adopted parents, that means nothing to me because well to me...they are my real parents." Shen replied proudly.

"That's great." the Asari said with a smile before turning her attention to Nightracer as the three of them entered the mess hall.

"I am just curious, are the two of you dating then?" Liara asked, earning shocked expressions from both the friends.

"What! No." the Femme replied quickly.

"No we're not." Shen quickly added in succession, as Nightracer's cheeks began to heat up from the embarrassment of the moment.

"Nightracer is more like a sister, just as Orion is like a brother." Shen said, the Femme quickly nodding in agreement.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to offend." Liara said, nearly horrified that she may have embarrassed her new friends already, she never was very good at meeting new people. It took her a little while to get used to Shockblast and his Brother when they first met five years ago, the Asari was just not that sociable really.

"It's alright Liara, it's probably an easy mistake to make as the three of us have been close since we were kids. Shen, Orion and myself." Nightracer said as she had noticed the worry rapidly appearing on the Asari's face.

"Out of the three of us, only Orion and Nightracer have dated." Shen added, earning a look of surprise from Liara.

"It was when we were teenagers and though it was great at the time, we were young and it didn't last." the Femme said while the Asari listened.

"And yet you are still close friends." she replied, earning a nod from Nightracer.

"That is a rarity to see and I should know, I am nearly one hundred and thirty four years old after all." Liara casually added, earning surprised looks from both femme and Turian.

"Really, well you look more like twenty five years old if I'm perfectly honest. I doubt I will look as good if I ever get to your age." Nightracer replied.

"Thank you, though I am still considered to be very young by my people's standards. Since the average Asari can live up to one thousand years old." the Asari added before looking around the room as they picked up their drinks from the food and drink dispensers.

"Where is Orion?" Liara asked with slight disappointment in her voice, while looking back at Shen and Nightracer.

"He is currently assisting Rodimus with the mission debriefing." Nightracer replied.

"Who is debriefing them again?" the Asari asked, her face looking all curious.

"Well as a Autobot spectre Elite class, Rodimus answers only to the very top of the Autobot Command..." The Femme added with a solemn expression, one that was shared by Shen too. It then clicked in the Asari's mind with why her two new friends had gone quiet all of a sudden.

"I take it Orion and his Father don't get on?" she then asked with an inquisitive tone, on that surprised Nightracer.

"How did you guess that?" she asked before taking a sip of her drink.

"When I met Orion and he told me who he was, I just made the connection about his Father. But when I asked about him, Orion became distant so I dropped it." Liara replied before going silent for another moment as she wondered what to say next, as did the others. This was obviously a taboo subject between the friends, but Liara was curious.

"What happened between them?" she then asked, gaining slightly surprised looks from the pair.

"We don't know, Orion was once extremely close to their Parents." Nightracer then replied.

"But then one day, something just changed in him when it came to them or more so his Dad." Shen added as he tapped the side of the cup he was holding with his finger repeatedly.

"He never wanted to talk about it and so we didn't push him to." Nightracer finished before taking another sip of her drink. Liara could feel that her new friends were uncomfortable talking about this subject, and though she was curious as to why someone would turn away from their Parents. She instead decided to change the subject, while keeping focus on the man that she found she had an interest in.

"Okay, so how did the three of you meet?"

Nightracer and Shen looked up at her with relieved expressions and with that the uncomfortable atmosphere around the new friends lessened considerably as they started to talk.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

In the Communication's room, Rodimus and Orion stood in front of the hologram of Jackson Prime as his image was being transmitted from 'The Ark', over a half a galaxy away.

"Agent Zero didn't give away much Intel, which isn't surprising when it comes to the Shadow Broker. But what she did say was that they had been hired to find and retrieve Liara from Donovan Hock." Rodimus said while the Autobot Leader looked at the pad in his hands, glancing up at Orion on occasion. The Bot had noticed this but decided to ignore his Father's attention as he stood beside the Commander, keeping his on the report that was on screen of the pad in his possession at this time.

"Any ideas as to who hired the Shadow Broker?" Jack asked as he looked back at Rodimus.

"No sir, but I believe Liara knows. Though as of the start of this mission debrief, the Asari is still in the Medical-Bay receiving treatment the injuries she was given while in hands of both the Slavers and Hock." the Autobot replied.

"And how is Liara doing...Orion." Jackson Prime asked as the young Bot felt the eyes of his two superiors on him now, making Orion wish that he was elsewhere.

"Liara is doing very well, which is surprising when you consider what has happened to her over the last month." the Bot replied, making Jack nod in return.

"She is a strong individual, I remember as much from the time I met her during the Reaper War. Even when Thessia was lost, Liara wouldn't let grief take hold and instead focused on helping the Refugees. A lesser person would not have been able to remain that determined."

The Prime then brought another pad into view and examined it.

"I have received Kasumi's report from Miranda and she said that the mission played out like she had planned, except for your escape transport being destroyed."

"Has she determined how the transport was found out to be for us?" Rodimus asked, earning a head shake from Jack.

"Not yet, but she is determined to find out. Kasumi did ask that I send her congratulations to you, and that she hopes to work with your team again in the future."

"Thank you for relaying that to us Prime, I think I can speak for my entire team when I say we would welcome Kasumi's help again down the line." The Commander replied as Jack took another look at the pad in his hand.

"Any ideas who this other group were that attacked you?"

"None sir, though considering that they appeared once we had secured Liara. I am guessing that she will have more knowledge on that matter, so I will ask at her debriefing." Rodimus replied.

"Good, so I would like to hear how you managed to escape when this 'other' group attacked." the Prime said as he looked back at the Commander.

"Well we have Orion to thank for that, for he was piloting the sky-car we were in. Pulling off some impressive evasive manoeuvres which bought us some precious extra time, so the Normandy could extract us. That too was Orion's doing, as I originally ordered the ship to stay outside of the system. On the off chance that it may be identified by anyone who is affiliated with Hock, but then your Son counter-mended my orders and had the Normandy enter the system and come and get us if a signal was broadcast on a particular frequency..."

As Rodimus spoke, Orion could see a proud smile appearing on his Father's face and yet found it hard to feel anything toward it.

"...Now I would usually be disappointed and angry that someone under my command failed to follow my orders, but if Orion had not taken the initiative then none of us would have made it out of there alive..." the Commander continued.

"...In fact Prime, I would like to ask that Orion be promoted to Spectre first class and made my XO."

Orion's eyes widened as he looked over to Rodimus, completely surprised by what the Commander had just said. But the Autobot simply smiled and nodded back to him.

"Very well Rodimus, consider it done." Jack replied as he typed on his holo-tool. Orion right now was feeling very ambivalent about this, he was happy to be promoted but the Bot was never keen to move into the area of command, and with good reason to which he didn't want to think about right now.

"Is everything alright Orion?" the Autobot Leader asked, noting that the newly promoted Spectre was looking surprised still.

"Yes sir, I am fine." the Bot replied, though Jack could read him like a book.

"Rodimus, congratulations on a job well done. Now will you will set course for Thessia, because Matriarch Benezia is awaiting her Daughter's return." the Prime said to the Commander.

"Of course Prime." Rodimus replied.

"And can you give us a moment please." Jack said as he gestured to himself and Orion. The Commander nodded and began to leave, but not before looking over at Orion. And then he was gone and the two Darbys were alone.

Rodimus entered the CIC and took his position in front of the galaxy map which like the Defiant and the Normandy before that, was located at the center of the CIC and in front of the elevator which led to the other decks of the ship. The Commander placed his hand to his right ear and activated his com-link.

"Jetstorm, set course for Thessia. We are to take Dr T'Soni back to her Mother before we resume with our missions."

"Yes sir, do you want to use our Space-bridge. Or shall we do this the usual way?" the Pilot said back.

"It would be quicker, but you know protocol. No use of our Space-bridge unless absolutely necessary. So I guess it will have to be the usual way." the Commander replied with a smile, earning a sigh from the pilot.

"Oh well...alright course set, we will be in range of a space bridge in two point five hours."

"Very good, Rodimus out." the bot replied before his com-link activated again.

"Rodimus, Red-Alert here. Just so you know, Liara is gong to be fine and I have already discharged her. So she is free for your debriefing, though is it possible for you to wait at least an hour first." the Medic said over the com channel.

"Very well, I still have some reports and what not to be done before then." Rodimus replied as he activated his console that was located just to the left of the galaxy map.

"Thank you." Red-Alert said back before closing the com, the Commander then focused on the data on his screen for a moment. Then suddenly the door leading to the area of the deck where the com-room was opened and Orion walked through towards the elevator, gaining Rodimus's attention as he turned to face the bot. He noticed that the young man didn't look happy, obviously his and Jack's 'chat' hadn't gone well.

"Orion, a moment of your time please." the Commander said, making the bot walk over to the galaxy map.

"You okay Son."

"Yes, I am fine." Orion replied, trying to hide the fact that he was seething inside right now.

"Are you really? Because it looks like you were butting heads with your father again." the Commander said as he looked at Orion with a knowing expression.

"What gave it away." the younger Bot replied.

"Well, it is not exactly a secret that the two of you don't get on. And as you already know, I will not pry into personal matters that do not concern me...but if you do ever need to talk then my door is always open." Rodimus said as he placed a hand on Orion's shoulder.

"Thank you Rodimus, I will remember that."

The Commander then placed his arms behind his back and corrected his posture, looking like the Elite Spectre he was well known as.

"I do however, need to know if you will be handing in a transfer request in the days to come?"

"No Rodmius, I have no intention of anything like that at this time." Orion replied, earning a smile from the Commander.

"Good, well I have everything under control up here. So why don't you go and take a break, I hear the others are with our guest right now."

"Alright then." Orion said before turning around and heading for the elevator, a slight smile appearing on his face as he thought about just spending time with his friends and not thinking about his father. Rodimus meanwhile turned back to the galaxy map and stared at it's image, as he thought back to several weeks earlier.

_'Rodimus stood outside one of the many buildings at the Autobot Barracks on the outskirts of New Iacon, while watching a group of Autobot soldiers as their prepared to ship out on a transport that was located on a landing platform at the center of the grounds. The group was made up of a number of milky way species that included Cybertronians, Asari, Krogan and Turian._

_"Commander Rodimus!" a voice called gaining the Spectre's attention as he turned to see a Caucasian man in Orange and blue armour approach him._

_"Drill Sargent Hoist."_

_"Forgive me Commander, I had not been informed of your arrival." the Sargent said with an apologetic look, but Rodimus gave him a slight smile._

_"There is no need, I am only here due to the suddenly availability of a particular soldier on your base, Lieutenant Darby."_

_"How did you hear about him?" Hoist asked with surprise in his voice and expression._

_"I am on the lookout for the best that we Autobots have at our disposal, and I hear he is one among them." Rodimus replied._

_"Well that he certainly is...but." the Sargent said, earning a curious look from the Spectre._

_"But in the seven years that Orion has been an Autobot, he has served in almost all sub-factions. his longest spells have been in the Aerialbots and Team Delta." Hoist added, gaining a smile from Rodimus._

_"Impressive, that is exactly the kind of soldier I want for my operation."_

_"Yes, Orion's record is very impressive. But he hasn't done himself any favors with his constant transfers requests..." Hoist replied in a worried tone._

_"...You see Orion has also shown time and again, that he has great potential in leadership skills. But when we try reward him and give the Bot more responsibility with a command rank. He simply refuses it and then asks for a transfer to another area, this has become a routine over the last couple of years."_

_"You said that his longest periods in one group was with both the Aerialbots and Team Delta?" the Commander asked as the two bots began walking across the grounds._

_"Yes, he spent two years with each group. Orion showed great piloting skills with the Aerialbots, but the moment he was given command of his own squadron...he quit. The same was said with Team Delta, which is renowned for their espionage capabilities. This is a real shame on his part, because Orion is hurting his career by not moving up the ranks." the Sargent replied as they approached another building._

_"So where is Orion now?" Rodimus asked, making the other bot point ahead of them both._

_"He is in his barracks directly ahead. You can speak with him if you want."_

_"Thank you." the Spectre replied before leaving the company of Hoist and entering the building's entrance._

_The building was split up into several areas labelled Alpha, Beta, Ceta and so on. Rodimus found himself in the Omega section now as he walked down a long corridor that had numerous doors on either side, each one connected to a living quarters for a said number of Autobots. He stopped when reaching a door labelled 'Autobot living quarters Omega One', pressing the control panel at the door's right hand side which then opened he door and allowed him to enter. He walked in to see multiple bunk-beds positioned in an ordered fashion down the length of the room, each one also had a matching pair of cupboards too. Though as he walked down the isle, Rodimus saw a blue haired man sitting on a lower bunk-bed and typing on his holo-tool._

_"Orion Darby" the Commander said, making the younger bot look up from what he was doing and stare at who just called his name._

_"Yes?" he replied_

_"My name is Commander Rodimus." the Spectre said back._

_"Can I help you Commander?" Orion added as Rodimus sat down on the lower bunk opposite the blue haired bot._

_"I hope so because I hear your requesting a transfer out of this sub-faction." the Commander replied._

_"That's right, I feel that I have gone as far as I can in this current field." the bot said back as group of soldiers jogged passed the his window, interrupting the two._

_"I see, so it isn't because you had recently been promoted?"_

_Orion sighed at that last sentence, which pretty much answered the Spectre's question as he slumped forward a little. It was as if he was expecting a lecture from the Commander, must have become a common thing for he young bot._

_"Okay, lets go." Rodimus said as he stood up, surprising Orion._

_"Go sir?" he replied with a confused expression._

_"For a drink, it was a long shuttle ride over here and my mouth is becoming dry. Grab your jacket and lets go." Rodimus replied, so even though the younger Bot was still confused at what just happened. He grabbed his jacket off his bunk and followed the Commander._

_"Two cold buds please." Rodimus said to the landlord as he and Orion approached the bar of the Pub they had just entered, earning a big smile from the old man behind it._

_"Rodimus!" this is certainly a surprise." the Landlord said as he and the Spectre shook hands._

_"How long has it been...five..." he continued to say before Rodimus corrected him._

_"Seven years, Alan."_

_"You don't say. Well you still have all your limbs and in all the right places, so I am guessing it's been alright for you." the old Man replied, earning a nod from the Bot._

_"There have been some close calls here and there, so about those cold buds?"_

_The landlord smiled at him._

_"Yeah you've not changed Rody, sure let me get them for you." he said before turning around and walking into the back. Rodimus turned his attention to Orion who had started to look around the place. The pub certainly had an old style to it, with nearly all the furniture made out of wood. There was a pool table and darts board just aways from them in the games area, but the rest of the pub was mainly filled with tables and chairs. Despite it's space, the place didn't have many customers. Leaving the place with a unnaturally cold atmosphere, especially when compared to places that Orion had drank at in his time. The landlord returned and handed Rodimus two Budweisers before looking Orion up and down with a curious look._

_"Say, you look familiar. Have I met you before?"_

_"No, we have never met before." the bot replied as the Commander handed him his drink. Then after a second or so longer of having the old man staring at him, the Landlord's eyes widened in disbelief._

_"You look just like him."_

_Orion felt himself go uneasy at what the Landlord had just said, as well as the way he said it._

_"Him?"_

_"He's Jackie's lad isn't he?" the old Man then asked, earning a nod from the Commander. Orion took a long swig of his bottle, feeling the cold and refreshing beer run down his throat and hoped that it might wash away the rather sour taste that had developed in the last few moments._

_"You know my Father?" he then asked, feeling both sets of eyes on him as t_ _he landlord gave him a big warm smile in response to the Bot's question._

_"Know him? He was a regular here and a friend. Take a look over there." he said while pointing to the framed photos on the wall just aways from the three of them. So Orion walked over as Rodimus watched quietly, observing the young Bot as he looked at the photos. It looked somewhat like a timeline as half of the pictures looked like they had been taken from when the pub was first opened, and then as he moved his eyes along the wall. The photos started to look more and more modern until it reached the here and now, each one had either a pair or a group of people in it and they all looked happy. That was when while Orion was more looking more than halfway along the wall, that he a photo of his Dad, the photo in question had Jack standing with Garrus, Uncle Ironhide, Smokescreen, Wrex and a younger Krogan that he did not recognize But the youngest person in the photo was Rodimus, who looked like he was in his late teens/early twenties. They all had a drink in their hand as they had it raised in a toast-like pose, like they were celebrating something. As the younger Bot looked at the photo, Rodimus then joined his side._

_"Did 'he' put you up to this?" Orion asked calmly before taking another swig of his drink._

_"No Orion, your Father didn't." Rodimus replied as he guessed the younger Darby would come to that conclusion._

_"Then why did you bring me here?"_

_"I like this place, have a lot of good memories here. That your father and I used frequent this place is purely coincidence, I brought you here because I felt a change in scenery would be good." the Commander answered as Orion kept looking at the photo._

_"When was this taken?"_

_"That was twenty two years ago, after we completed our first operation as a team. Your Father led us into a two-day battle against what was left of the Blood pack and Eclipse and Blue Suns who were holding a rather large town hostage, the rest of those groups had already joined Omega at that point. It was also the first time I had worked with Jack." Rodimus replied._

_"How did you come to work with him?" The blue haired Bot asked, surprising the Commander with yet another question._

_"Well I met Jack after the Reaper War, the two of us talked about my Brother Hotrod and he said how sorry he was for what had happened to him. And after going into detail about what I wanted to do in the Autobots, your Father offered me a position on his team and from that moment he became like a mentor to me."_

_"What about that guy?" Orion asked as he pointed over to the younger looking Krogan, because he already knew Garrus and Wrex._

_"That is Grunt, a Krogan that Urdnot Wrex let Jack have on his team. This is because Wrex was no longer available due to his duties as Leader of the Krogan and Grimlock had taken up a post teaching at the Academy, and your father wanted to have a 'heavy hitter' on his team...I think that is the right term, so that got filled up by Grunt."_

_Both bots then took a swig of their drinks before Rodimus gestured to the younger one to sit down, both taking a seat at a table next to them._

_"So, to the reason why we are talking. You obviously know about the Council Spectres, and how your Father had them disbanded not long after the Federation's forming." the Commander said, earning a nod from Orion._

_"Of course, it was because of the massacre at Delta Vega. A Turian Spectre had the whole colony wiped out just to get one man, who was hiding among the people there."_

_"That's right, Jack could no longer let the Spectres go about and keep doing whatever they wanted to get the job done. But he still saw the need for a special ops faction, but this time running with a better moral code. No killing of innocents to get the job done for starters, it was time to bring some rules in. I was one of the first that your Father made into a Autobot Spectre, and generally we still work alone." Rodimus said as Orion just sat there and listened._

_"But I had an mission recently where the rule of 'working alone' was of no benefit, so I brought an idea to your Father." the Spectre added._

_"What was that?" The younger Bot replied._

_"To start having teams of Spectres working together, not just on their own. Now Jack agreed to give this idea a test run, and I am in the middle of assembling a team. And because of the positive experience I had working with your Father and his team, I wish to have the same unity with my own. So I have already recruited Jetstorm, Red-Alert, Shen Vakarian and Nightracer, I believe you are friends with the last two." Rodimus said._

_"Yes I have known them for a long time, they are like family. So now you want me to join your team?" Orion asked, earning a nod from the Commander._

_"Exactly, though your Father tried to dissuade me from it."_

_The younger Bot gave Rodimus a confused look at that last sentence._

_"Why would he do that?"_

_"I don't know, but my offer is on the table...if you want it. You have all the skills and experience I would want out of a Spectre." Rodimus said back._

_"And we would all be Spectres?" Orion asked, still thinking it over._

_"We are also trying out a new ranking system, three ranks in total. Second class, first Class and Elite, each class answers to the one above it, and the Elite answers to the Prime or as you know best...your Father. Now my rank is Spectre Elite, you and your friends be Second class Spectres until I can decide who should become First class and my XO." the Commander said._

_"XO?" the blue haired Bot replied._

_"Yes, I have been given command of an experimental frigate. But I can not say anymore unless you are on board with this?" Rodimus said as Orion looked away from the Commander with a thoughtful expression, while he considered the offer._

_"Alright, count me in." the young Bot then said back with a smile, one that Rodimus mirrored before finishing his drink._

_"Excellent, okay In that case. I will expect you to meet me at Eighteen hundred hours at dock N-seven in New Iacon, the Normandy and I will be waiting for you there." the Spectre said as he got up from his seat._

_"Normandy?" Orion replied with a confused look as Rodimus began to head out of the pub, stopping short of the front door and looking back at the young Bot with a smile._

_"You'll see." he said before walking out of the door and leaving Orion with another confused expression.'_

Rodimus was then brought back to his senses by his holo-tool beeping, so activated it and looked at the data scrolling down his screen.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Orion walked out of the elevator onto the crew deck and he was still fuming from his most recent argument with his dad, he just couldn't understand him right now or maybe he never would. It had not always been like this, but it seemed the older the Bot gets, the more unlike each other he and his Father were.

Orion then entered the mess-hall and his eyes immediately fell on Liara as she sat with both Nightracer and Shen. As the three of them were talking and laughing, about something that the bot could not hear due to distance. Again just like at Hock's party, Orion found himself looking at the Asari as she talked with the others.

' _Wow._ ' the bot thought as he watched her talking with the others and you wouldn't have thought, that Liara had been held as a slave only recently. She certainly was strong, perhaps stronger than they had thought. And she carried herself with a grace that the Asari were well known for, then there was her beauty. Orion had seen a number of Asari before Liara and they were certainly a beautiful and elegant species, but if there was a true Sapphire among them. Then that was Liara, or at least it was in his eyes.

"Orion, over here."

The blue haired Bot was snapped out of his gaze by Shen who was waving him over. Both the females were waving at him too, but it was Liara that had his attention as she smiled at him, which made him forget all about what had just transpired on the floor above. So he smiled back, grabbed his drink and walked over to them.

"Good of you to finally join us." Nightracer said as the bot sat down on the other side of the table opposite the Asari.

"Yes, it is good to see you again." Liara added as Orion took a sip of his drink.

"Same here." he added with a smile before looking at his friends.

"Sorry about being late, debriefing took longer than expected." Orion replied.

"Did it go alright?" Shen asked with a knowing tone in his voice. The blue haired Bot knew what his friend meant, but was thankful that he didn't spell it out.

"It went alright." he lied, not wanting his friends to worry and if they could tell he was being untruthful, they certainly didn't show it.

"So how are you Liara?" Orion asked.

"I am fine Orion, thank you. Nightracer and Shen have made me feel very welcome." the Asari replied, earning smiles from the others.

"We were just keeping Liara company until Rodimus is ready." Shen said in return.

"That could be any time now, so what were you doing to pass the time?" the Bot asked.

"I was curious how you all knew each other and so asked, Shen and Nightracer have been very informative." Liara replied before taking a sip of her drink.

"Well, We have had a very good run together. So I'm not ashamed to admit it." Nightracer added.

"Neither am I." the Turian replied , earning a smile and nod from Orion.

"Yeah we sure did, the only one missing from this table is Quickstrike. But we are supposed to meet up with him during our next shore leave."

"Quickstrike is your cousin, am I right?" the Asari asked, gaining a nod from the Bot.

"Yes, he is the son of my Mum's sister...Chromia."

"Well after hearing about the things you used to get up to with the practical jokes and everything else, you certainly had more of an exciting childhood then me." Liara replied.

"Why? What was yours like Liara?" Orion asked, finding himself wanting to know more about her. The Asari smiled at the blue haired bot's curiosity and looked ahead as if she could see it ahead of her.

"I grew up on Thessia, in the city of Armali. My mother and I lived near a park, and I spent hours there."

"Doing what?" Orion asked, while the others just remained quiet.

"Reading, exploring, attempting to find ruins in the grass. I got into a lot trouble for that." Liara added with a slight smile.

"I bet, we got into trouble once for playing in farmer's crop field back on Rannoch, remember guys?" Shen replied, earning nods from both the Bot and Femme.

"My mother was furious with me, the lecture alone….." Liara said, making Orion remember the lectures he received from his parents, only for him to push them to the back of his mind and focus on the Asari as she carried on talking.

"..But she did get me my first history book the very next day."

"That's how you got into History then?" he asked.

"Yes, the book I received was about the Lithone. I found everything about them so fascinating, so much that I spent ninety years studying them." Liara replied, earning dumbstruck look from Orion.

"Ninety years, old are you? he asked in disbelief.

"I am one hundred and thirty four years old." the Asari said, almost making Orion's jaw hit the floor.

"Really, you don't look a day past twenty five." Orion replied while blushing slightly which unbeknownst to him, Liara found to be very cute as both Shen and Nightracer gave their friend a knowing look.

"Why thank you Orion, that is very flattering. Though among my people I am still considered to be a child due to the fact that we can actually live up to one thousand years old, but I have heard that Cybertronians used to live for far longer." the Asari replied.

"Yeah, that's true. When our species had their original Cybertronian bodies, our life-span was eons long. I though can't imagine living for so long." Nightracer said before taking a sip of her drink.

"So did you have any friends when you were a child?" Shen asked.

"Not when I was a younger, no." Liara replied with slight regret in her voice.

"Why not?" Nightracer asked in return, a curious expression on her face.

"I wasn't very social-able as a child, I preferred my own company to that of others. I always found that I would say the wrong thing and alienate them or embarrass myself, so I decided to leave it. So while they played with their friends everyday, I would instead do what I wanted. It stayed that way for most of my life." Liara added.

"Sounds lonely." Orion replied before finishing off his drink, Liara looked at him while he did so.

"I didn't think so, I found it liberating to be able to focus on my studies and later on the work I was doing on dig sites and such. It wasn't until the Reapers invaded that my solitary came to an end when I was put in a team of scientists, it was then that I started to see that I was wrong."

"But you said you were happy about it?" Shen asked in response.

"Well when you work closely with a group of like minded people While under the threat of extermination, it sort of changes your viewpoint. We all ended up being good friends" the Asari answered.

"Well what happened,"? Are they still around?" Nightracer asked, making the Asari shake her head.

"No, they died in the last few weeks of the war. It was while we were on Thessia, the day I met your parents Orion."

The Bot nodded in return, but looked somewhat worried. This didn't go unnoticed by Nightracer.

"I see." the Femme replied, knowing full well that her best friend and former lover would be uncomfortable if they carried on with the most recent topic. In fact she could see that Liara had noticed the same thing.

"Orion, what I want to know is where did you learn to fly? Because what you did to avoid those gunships back on Illium was amazing." the Asari asked which made the bot smile back to her, a silent thank you for changing the subject.

"Well I have always been interested in flying, ever since Jetfire took me up in one of those old T-fifty seven aircraft. So I learn't from him and Nightracer's mum - Slipstream." Orion replied, his tone sounding somewhat happier.

"Yes, and he even got to fly in Jetfire's old unit, the Aerialbots." Nightracer added.

"Really, aren't they like the best of the best of the Autobot flyers?" Liara asked with a curious smile, obviously impressed with the bot thus far.

"Yes they are, there have been many great pilots who have made the team such as Jetfire, Hotrod, Air-Raid, Silverbolt, Steve Cortez, Slipstream, Vortex and Jeff 'Joker' Monroe." Shen said while counting the names on his fingers.

"And your among them Orion, that is most impressive.." Liara replied with a smile that the Bot was finding hard not blush against.

"..So why didn't you stay with them?" the Asari then asked.

"I fancied another challenge." the Bot replied, then Shen smiled as something came to mind.

"Hey Liara, want to hear of the time that we and Quickstrike had a sort of joyride that really showed off Orion's skill at flying?"

Liara gave the Turian a skeptical look.

"Joyride?"

"It wasn't meant to be that, but it was seen that way by our parents and the Geth patrol that chased us. But Shen is right about the potential that Orion here displayed that day." Nightracer added with a smile at the blue haired Bot.

"Want to hear it?" he asked Liara with a smile, which in turn made her smile back.

"Sure."

"Okay it was eight years ago and..." Orion started to say before the intercom activated.

"Can Team Rodimus and Dr T'Soni please meet the Commander in the CIC." a female voice spoke, which made Orion tap his com-link as the others finished their drinks.

"This is Orion, we are on our way."

He then closed the call and looked at the others and Liara.

"Well it's time, rain check on the story?"

"Definitely." Liara replied with a coy expression before she then followed the Bot and the others out of the mess-hall.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Six-shot walked onto the bridge of the Icarus, having just returned from his failure on Illium and saw that apart from the Terracons who were manning the bridge's stations, there was not one single lieutenant of Galvatron or the Predacon leader himself there. The foot soldiers were all Caucasian and had the same armour with their black and purple color scheme, they were all armed with pistols on their utility belts while also carrying assault rifles on their backs. But Six-shot had also heard that they like himself and his brother and the other higher up Predacons, were also capable of unleashing a beast mode and thus making them far more formidable cannon fodder than the army that the Autobots now have. The bot walked over to one of the Terracons who was running a diagnostic on the engineering station.

"Soldier where is my brother? Have you seen him?"

The Con turned and gave Six-shot a blank expression.

"Commander Shockblast is still in the Predacon lab sir, but I have to inform you that Lord Galvatron is expecting you in his ready room." he replied as he pointed over their left.

"Very well, carry on." the bot replied as he turned and walked over to the door, pressing the button on the control panel to his left and waiting for a moment.

"Enter!" Galvatron called back and Six-shot entered the dimly lit room to find the Predacon Leader standing at the window and looking out at the devastated surroundings of Cybertron.

"Welcome back Six-shot, I hope you were successful in your mission."

"I regret to inform you my Lord that the Autobots managed to retrieve the Asari and take her off planet before I had the chance to terminate her." the Con replied in a calm manner though inside his spark was pulsing very quickly, having remembered what Galvatron was capable of after seeing him make short work of Scourge only a month earlier. Six-shot did not have to wait long for an answer as the Lord turned round and smashed his fist onto his desk, his face one of pure rage as his eyes glowed blood red.

"You let her escape!" he spat as the bot looked down to see Galvatron's fist was embedded in a small crater on his desk, the dent was quite deep. His attention then went back to his leader's face which was all kinds of scary right now as.

"I cannot believe that you let the Autobots outsmart you like that!" he added while Six-shot was almost about to fall to his knees and beg.

"My Lord please, I was this close to ending the life of that Asari and the Autobots that were protecting her, I even managed to kill two of the Shadow Broker's agents that were also pursuing them." Six-shot replied with a fearful tone as Galvatron lifted his fist up and walked around the desk and right up to the bot's face.

"But now as we speak, that Asari is no doubt telling the Autobots about our existence." he growled while bringing his face within an inch of the of Six-shot, who swore he could almost feel the heat of the pit emanating from those blood red eyes of his Master. But then Galvatron pulled away and merely looked at his Lieutenant with quiet rage as he gritted his sharp teeth before turning around and moving his attention back to the window.

"I would like nothing more than to rip out your spark for failing me Six-shot, but your Brother has found something. Something that once under our control, will allow us to deactivate the Autobot's communication network and cripple their forces. Only then will we Predacons be in strong enough position to announce ourselves to the galaxy."

"How was this achieved my Lord?" Six-shot asked sheepishly, hoping that he could keep Galvatron's attention from said desire.

"Shockblast has discovered the Autobots Communication Hub which is hidden on the Omicron Colony. I have already sent word to Ser-Ket and Rip-Claw aboard the Achilles, who are now preparing to strike." the Predacon Leader replied before looking back at the Con.

"Now get out of my sight, or do you wish for your spark to be removed?"

Six-shot's eyes widened and his mouth was agape as he realised what Galvatron was doing.

"No, of course I will go now. Thank you for sparing me my Lord." he replied with a relieved tone while backing towards the door, never taking his eyes off of his Leader.

"Do not thank me Six-shot, save that for your Brother. Now leave!" he spat, making the Con hasten his exit through the door. Galvatron waited for it to shut before taking a breath, sighing once he was truly alone in the room again. His spark was still pulsing with anger and hate and he wondered how he managed to control that and not just kill Six-shot when he had the chance, yes it may have made his working with Shockblast somewhat more tougher. But it would have set a fine example to his troops of what happens when one of them fails him. But then Galvatron was pulled out of his thoughts when that familiar laughing began to echo around him again, as if someone was in the room with him.

"Who's there?" he said aloud as he scanned the room with his eyes, but was still by himself.

' _What is that laughing? And why am I the only one that hears it?_ ' he thought before….

" _I always knew you would be a failure!_ " a familiar voice suddenly said from behind the Predacon Leader, who spun around to see that no one was there.

"Who said that?" he spat as he felt his anger beginning to boil over again, but this was also mixed with a hint of fear as he looked around with wide eyes.

" _Someone that remembers you all to well._ " the voice said, once again from behind Galvatron who turned to see just the window and desk behind him, now if there was something other than his anger that was building up to a critical point, then it would be his patience and that was just as much in fear of breaking than his temper.

"Enough games, show yourself. Nobody makes a fool of Galvatron!" the Predacon spat into the empty room.

" _Very well, see me now._ " the familiar voice spoke again, this time from in front of Galvatron who's eyes widened even more as a silhouette of a Cybertronian began to appear before him. The shape of his body looked very familiar as his shoulder pads had sharp curved spikes growing out off them and his armour had a very gladiator like feel to it.

"This cannot be!" Galvatron said as he blinked once the figure was fully in front of him, with a dark grin on his face plate. For standing in front of the Predacon Leader was none other than the long dead former leader of the Decepticons...'Megatron'.

Galvatron stood there in complete shock as Megatron smiled at him, the Decepticon looked exactly the same as the Predacon leader remembered with his silver armour and face plate that bared some battle gained scars. The only change was that the con leader was about six foot tall like a Human, and not the height of what Cybetronians used to be.

" _So I see that nothing has changed, you are still just same failure that I had Shockwave lock away all those years ago._ " Megatron said as he began to walk towards the shocked Predacon.

"You can't be here, you are dead." Galvatron spat back before the Con went right in his face.

" _Ah but you see, I have always been here or maybe I should rephrase that. I have always been 'here'._ " Megatron replied as he pointed at the Predacon leader's chest, at the Predacon insignia and the spark that lay beneath it.

" _Your very spark was cloned from my own, which means that I have survived through you._ "

The Decepticon then looked around the room and shook his head.

" _And I have to say that I am unimpressed with what you have accomplished thus far._ "

Galvatron's face then went from shock to anger as he narrowed his eyes at this Con, seemingly back from the dead.

"I have resurrected the Predacon species, acquired a fleet and together we will conquer this galaxy, something that you never did." he spat back, which earned a laugh from Megatron.

" _Predacons, don't you mean Preda-clones. Because that is what they are, merely shadows of their mighty ancestors. They are the same as you are to me. And this fleet you have is nothing more than light cruisers and civilian vessels, I doubt you could conquer a planet let alone the entire galaxy._ " The Decepticon replied in a goading like tone which made the Predacon Leader explode into a fit of anger as he activated his holo-blade and swung it at Megatron. Only for the blade to pass harmlessly through the Con like he was hologram, earning another shocked look from Galvatron while the Decepticon smiled at him.

" _And again you prove yourself inferior to me, for you should realise that I exist in your mind and because of that you cannot harm me...but that doesn't mean that I cannot harm you._ " Megatron replied before punching the Predacon in the face, knocking him back against the desk. The Clone then tried to recover and get back to his feet, but suddenly Megatron grabbed him by the throat and pulled him back up.

"Your...not...here. How...is...this...possible?" Galvatron managed to say through the vice like grip on his neck, until the Decepticon let go and pushed him against the desk.

" _Like I said..._ " he began to repliy before the door behind them opened and a Terracon entered the room.

"Lord Galvatron, we heard a loud noise come from in here. Are you alright?" the soldier asked as he looked at the Predacon Leader.

"I am fine..." he replied while Megatron remained quiet.

"...Now leave 'us'."

The Terracon responded with a confused expression at the Predacon Leader before looking around the room, yet Galvatron was the only occupant.

"There is no one else in here my Lord." he replied with an equally confused tone, one which made the clone narrow his crimson eyes at the minion.

"I said leave!" he spat, making the Terracon almost jump out of his skin.

"Of course my Lord." he replied in a fearful tone before bolting it out of thr room. Once Galvatron was sure that he was alone, he turned back to Megatron only to find that he was not there.

" _Like I said before we were rudely interrupted..._ " Megatron said from behind Galvatron, who spun around to see the Con Leader leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

" _...I exist in your mind and so only you can see and hear me, as well as feel everything I do to you._ "

Megatron then uncrossed his arms and clenched a fist, smiling all the while at Galvatron.

"Why are you here? what do you want?" the clone asked with a very agitated tone.

" _For you to accept who and what you are, that you are nothing more than a clone of myself and start acting like it. Or else I will make you suffer for it._ " Megatron replied, which made the Predacon walk over to him, stopping only a few centimeters from the Con's face-plate.

"You may be able to hurt me, but your still just an hallucination of my mind. I will find out a way to control you or block you out, this I promise along with my previous vow. To surpass you and everything stand for, now shut up." Galvatron said before walking away from the Decepticon, who merely chuckled in return.

" _He said shut up to me._ "

Galvatron walked back onto the bridge and saw the Terracons all look at him with worried expressions.

"As you were." he replied before noticing Megatron sitting down at one of the vacant stations, smirking at him. But the Predacon leader chose to ignore him as he turned his attention to the Terracon manning the communication terminal.

"Get me Ser-Ket and Rip-Claw."

"Yes my Lord." the soldier replied before tapping commands into the holo-interface before him. A moment later and Ser-Ket's face appeared on the main view-screen for all the bridge to see.

" _She is certainly a sight to behold._ " Megatron observed as he was now standing at the weapons station just behind Galvatron, who continued to ignore him.

"Ser-Ket, what is your current status?"

"We have arrived at the system where the Omicron Colony is located my liege, and are awaiting you word to proceed." the femme replied in a professional and elegant manner, which was very unlike that of Rip-Claw who Galvatron had noticed retained a very beast like tone in her voice, which was the same as the other Predacons.

"The word is given, take the Colony and obtain that Communication Hub. I also want you to take prisoners if the opportunity presents itself, do you understand?" he said, earning a nod from Ser-Ket.

"Understood Lord Galvatron, we will attack at once. Achilles out."

The screen then went dark and Galvatron just looked ahead.

' _This is it_.' he thought as a smile grew on his face.

' _Time for the Autobots to feel our wrath._ '

 


	9. Chapter 9

 

The noise felt almost unbearable as it filled the room and his ears, making him open his eyes slowly and stare up at the ceiling above him. He needed at least a minute to fully comprehend his surroundings at this point of the morning, but that damn sound was drowning out his very thoughts so he rolled on to his left side and looked down at the floor beside his bed. His eyes fell upon a small squishy grey cube that had a green holo-image of the time being emitted on it's side which said five am, so he picked it up and threw it away. The cube bounced off the wall to his left and then rolled to a stop on the floor and the sound with it, earning a smile from the man.

_'Good job I found that gizmo on the net, or else I would be paying out for a lot of alarms.'_  he thought before climbing out of bed and walking over to the bathroom, the lights of the room activating at a low level for him as he entered the room. The man then stopped at the sink and turned on the cold tap which let the water flow freely out of it's snout and into the sink before disappearing down it's drain, so he then bent down over the sink and cupped his hands together before placing them under the running tap to collect some of the cold and clear liquid. He then splashed it on his face, the immediate sensation of the cold water waking him up far more effectively than the alarm clock had. Once he felt fresh and alert enough, the man then stood up and looked at his image in the mirror in front of him, which was that of a Caucasian man with short dark blonde hair and a medium built physique. He then reached over to the toothpaste and toothbrush which were located in a transparent glass on the back of the sink when a holo-interface appeared on the mirror.

"Good morning Lieutenant Quickstrike." a synthesized voice spoke, earning a sigh from the man.

"Morning 'Skeets'." he replied before brushing his teeth as 'Skeets' was an Autobot VI, one that Quickstrike and all Autobots on Omicron Colony had received as a part of an initiative, yet the Bot could not know why. And the VI was worse than the alarm clock since it didn't understand what privacy was, having appeared to him numerous times when the young Man did not want to be disturbed.

"Quickstrike I have to remind you that in thirty minutes you will required to be at your post." the VI said while the Bot swilled some water in his mouth and spat it and the excess toothpaste into the sink's bowl.

"Yes Skeets, I know. I will be there in plenty of time." Quickstrike replied before turning on the shower and taking off his boxers.

"Computer deactivate." he then replied as the interface shut down.

"Sir wai..." the VI replied before its voice was gone and the mirror went back to normal, which made the Bot smile as he climbed in to the shower for his morning wash. Then ten minutes later, Quickstrike was fully clothed in his red and black armour bearing his Autobot insignia proudly as he stood in one of the colony's many transports as it flew towards the Command center which was situated at the city's central area. Well to call it a city was a bit of a stretch really, as none of the populations centres on the planet really had a number of citizens needed to be classified as a city. This one was only given the honor because it was the first and it itself was called 'Omicron City'.

' _Really needed someone with a better imagination to name the city._ ' the Bot thought as he looked around at the buildings as they zipped by, all of which looked like slightly larger and taller versions of the buildings on Eden Prime and Horizon. The transport then slowed down and landed on a landing pad next to the command center, which was the only building on the entire colony that could be close to being called a skyscraper. Quickstrike exited the transport and it then took off and flew away, while the Bot looked up at the tall structure as it reached up into the cloudy sky, with rays of sunlight managing to break though the odd gaps here and there in the cloud. He could also see the large red Autobot emblem that was positioned at the center of the building, but this building was actually a decoy for the real facility which was underground. The Facility in question was the Autobots main Communication Hub for the entire galaxy, it was made so that the Federation's main defence could be better prepared in case a galactic threat on level with the Reapers ever appeared.

Quickstrike began to walk up the steps to the building's entrance when a someone called his name.

"Hey Quickstrike." The voice said, gaining the bot's attention as he turned to see another Caucasian man in a Orange and blue uniform approaching him. This one had brown hair that could be just seen under the safety helmet he was wearing.

"Morning Long-Arm, I thought you would be at one of the construction sites for the perimeter defences right now?" Quickstrike replied as the shook hands.

"I was on my way, when I suddenly got called in because we have a damaged Autobot cruiser that is due to arrive in the next twenty minutes." Long-Arm replied.

"That's strange, don't we usually get more of a warning than that when Autobot ships are incoming." Quickstrike asked with a curious expression.

"Yeah, but still I should..." the other Bot said in return before his com link activated, prompting him to tap his ear.

"Long-Arm here...Hey Grapple,…yeah I just got told to go somewhere else...I know, short notice huh...okay, I will be back on site once I'm done."

Long-Arm then stopped the call and smiled back to his friend.

"Well I have to get moving, so I will see you later."

"Sure will." Quickstrike replied before both bots continued in opposite directions, with him entering the lobby of the command center. He said morning to the Turian female who was manning the front desk before entering the elevator and pressing the key on the control panel labelled 'SUB-LEVEL TWENTY EIGHT'.

Quickstrike waited in the elevator for a few minutes as it made it's descent towards the lowest level, the Bot though just stood there patiently while looking up at the level indicator that was situated above the door and watched as the number of each floor he passed appeared and disappeared quickly in ascending order. This elevator ride might have been a nice break for the bot except for the god awful music that played constantly to anyone who was inside, and was on a constant loop so there was no break. It was supposed to be an orchestral piece from the Geth, apparently the first piece of music they had every created. Though if that was what the Geth called music then they needed their audio receptors retuned, but luckily for Quickstrike the elevator came to a stop on the floor he wanted, and as soon as the doors opened he was out of there. The Bot stepped into a grey corridor of the large bunker-like base

Quickstrike exited the elevator and walked down the bunker-like corridors of the real Autobot base, making his way towards the CIC. He then stopped at this large metallic door as a green laser beam passed over him.

"Identity confirmed, Lt Commander Quickstrike, access granted." a synthesized voice spoke, before the door opened and revealed the nerve center of the base. Quickstrike walked into a large dome like room that had numerous control stations and terminals positioned systematically around the room, in the CIC's center was a massive cylinder like machine that rose high up into a tunnel at the very peak of the dome and was covered in thousands of LEDs, that were blinking on and off at a very high rate. An Asari Autobot greeted the Bot while she was talking to a Krogan and a Salarian before pointing over to a Caucasian man in red, yellow and silver armour, who was reading data that was scrolling down a large holo-screen in front of him.

"Commander Blaster, Quickstrike reporting for duty." Quickstrike said, gaining The leader's attention.

"Quickstrike, good morning. I guess ya heard the news." he said, earning a nod from the younger Bot.

"Yes, I heard it from Long-Arm as I arrived. What's going on, has this ship just completely forgotten protocol when it comes to our Colony?"

"I don't know bud, we have been trying to contact the ship ever since we it entered the system. But no answer so far." Blaster replied as Quickstrike stood beside him and looked up at another screen, which showed the planet and an Autobot emblem that was getting closer to it.

"Do we have a name for this ship?" the Lt asked, but the Commander shook his head in response.

"No, ship registry is not working. But the Autobot IFF (Identify Friend & Foe) has been detected, so at least we know that it is one of ours." Blaster replied.

As both bots watched the screens, a Krogan operative turned to face them from his station.

"Commander Blaster, the ship is hailing us."

"On screen." the lead Bot replied.

"Sir, it is audio only." the Krogan said back.

"Put it on speakers."

Suddenly a sound of static crackling echoed around the CIC before a female voice could be heard.

"This is the Autobot cruiser 'Lakota', please respond?"

"This is Omicron colony, Commander Blaster speaking. Can you identify yourself?" the Commander replied.

"My name is Lt Commander Sasha Emmerich. Our Captan and XO are both dead and I have taken command. We were ambushed by an Omega patrol and have suffered many casualties and a number of our systems are shot to hell, We are in desperate need of repairs and medical assistance." the Female voice responded as Blaster looked past a pensive looking Quickstrike at the Asari sitting at the station next to them, she had on her screen a profile for Lt Cmdr Emmerich and so turned and nodded at the Commander who then refocused his attention back on the transmission.

"We will clear landing platform ten on the outer section of Omicron City for you, there will be Medical and Engineering teams waiting for you."

"Thank you Commander, Lakota out." the voice replied before the call cut out. Blaster turned to Quickstrike, who still looked uneasy.

"Something doesn't feel right, may I have your permission to call in the 'Fearless', our colony's defensive dreadnought to keep an eye on our visitors?"

"Alright, but you can call them on the way." Blaster replied, earning a confused look from the younger bot.

"On the way?"

"I want you to head over to landing platform ten with a squad of marines, just as a precaution." the Commander replied, gaining a nod and a smile from Quickstrike.

"Very well sir." he said before turning around and heading for the exit, while also activating his com-link as he did.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile the Autobot star-ship currently heading toward the Colony, that they were told was the 'Lakota' was actually the Predacon controlled 'Achilles'. And on the ship's bridge, Rip-Claw was looking out at the image of the planet on the view-screen before turning to her 'Sister' Ser-Ket and smiling at her.

"That was impressive Sister, you even had me fooled."

The other Femme deactivated the holo-interface of the communication terminal in front of her and turned to face Rip-Claw.

"Let's hope that the deception was good enough to last until we are inside their defense perimeter." she said, her voice sounding more like a Human than her Predacon Sister, who's was more deeper with a hint of beastliness to it which underlined her more feral nature.. She gave Ser-Ket a curious expression in return.

"I still find myself wondering why you sound less like the rest of us Predacons. I mean you are my Sister, I can still remember the two of us fighting side by side against the 'enemy' on the day the world ended and everything went dark. It was so long ago, yet I can remember it like it was yesterday." the Femme replied as Ser-Ket looked away. She was wondering about that herself, because it was all true. She was a Predacon, but even the Femme had noticed that there were more differences between herself and the rest of Predacons than similarities. For she did sound more human-like than the others and she could not remember the events that Rip-claw had spoken of, for the last thing Ser-Ket remembered was being killed by Grimlock while fighting for Shockwave. In fact she could remember every detail of her time working for the Decepticon scientist, her willingness to do anything to protect her Master and use her abilities to their maximum potential. But now since her reawakening, something had changed and Ser-Ket would not dare mention this to anyone, especially her 'Sister'. Because she doubted that they were even related, even though Rip-Claw could feel a sibling-like bond between them. Ser-Ket could not and whenever the more muscular femme called her Sister, it made her feel uneasy right down to her spark. And all of these doubts really started to bear down on her after the incident on the very ship that they now commanded, back when the Predacons killed the original Autobot crew for it and showed that they were truly different to her.

"We are beginning our descent into the atmosphere." the Terracon piloting the cruiser said back, snapping Ser-Ket from her thoughts as Rip-Claw stood beside her, looking excited.

"I can not wait to drench my claws in more Autobot blood." she said, earning a stern look from the other Femme.

"Remember what Lord Galvatron said, we are also to take prisoners. So don't make it a massacre down there...understand?"

"I promise nothing." Rip-Claw replied with a rebellious tone, before noticing that the HUD of the view-screen showed how far into the atmosphere they already were.

"Didn't Shockblast mention that once we were at the right altitude, that we should open our cargo bay doors?"

"That's right.." Ser-Ket replied as she looked over to the Terracon to her left.

"Open the cargo bay doors now."

The minion nodded in return, and then began typing on the holo-interface in front of him. Meanwhile on the outside of the ship, the cargo bay doors opened up to the sounds of growling and heavy footfalls before something quite large launched itself out of the Achilles and flew down into the thick cloud cover.

On landing platform ten, Long-Arm was with a gathering of ISF engineers, medics and Autobot marines when he noticed another gunship...the third in the last several minutes, approaching their location from the direction of the Command tower.

"Hold up." he said to three of the engineers that he was talking to, before walking up to the gunship as it slowed down and landed on the edge of the platform. The back door then opened and folded down into a set of steps before a familiar face appeared and exited the vehicle.

"Quickstrike? You've been brought into this too?" the bot asked as the Lt Commander joined him on the ground.

"Yep, I am too take command of the marines here...excuse me a sec." Quickstrike replied, earning a nod from his friend.

"Of course." Long-Arm replied as he watched the Bot head over to the marines and speak with them.

"Who's in charge here?"

"That would be me sir, Lieutenant James Vega." a very built Hispanic soldier in heavy armour sporting a Mohawk spoke back, gaining the Bot's attention.

"At ease Vega, Commander Blaster has put me in charge of this group until this situation has been resolved."

"Alright, so what are our orders sir?" Vega replied.

"Just to be ready for anything Lieutenant." the Bot said back in a somewhat cryptic way, which confused the Marine.

"We expecting trouble sir?" he asked as Long-Arm joined Quickstrike.

"I just think it's better to be ready." the Lt Commander replied before looking at his friend who had his holo-tool active.

"How long?"

"It's here." Long-Arm replied as they heard the loud noise of the 'Lakota's engines before looking up to see the cruiser appear on the other side of the city, as it dropped under the heavy cloud cover and slowly fly over Omicron City. Quickstrike activated his own holo-tool and typed set of commands into it's interface before a set of holo-binoculars appeared in hand, which he brought up to his eyes and looked out at the new arrival.

"Well that's weird." he said, earning inquisitive looks from Long-Arm and Vega.

"What is?" the Marine replied.

"In their communication, the Lakota said it had been heavily damaged in a fight with Omega forces. But it doesn't even have a scratch on it." the Bot answered as the ship was about to pass the command tower.

"That is strange." Long-Arm said as Orion looked at him and Vega.

"The Lakota will be here in a moment, prepare your men. Be ready for anything."

Both Men nodded as they were about to turn and go over to their units, when they suddenly just stopped and looked up at the ship.

"What the hell?" Vega said, making Quickstrike turn round to see that the Lakota had stopped next to the Command tower and was just hovering there at the City's center.

"What are they doing? The landing site is here." Long-Arm added as they looked on while in the Hub's CIC, Blaster and his crew were thinking the exact same thing.

"Sir the ship is just hovering there, right above us." the Asari just aways from him said from her station.

"Yeah, I can see that." The Commander replied before turning to the Krogan at Communications.

"Keep relaying the landing instructions, I want that ship berthed now." he said, gaining a nod from the Krogan who looked at his screen which showed the clear cut com-signal. He then tapped a button on his interface.

"Lakota, the landing site is platform ten. Please..." he said before the link stopped and the visual of the signal on screen suddenly became distorted and erratic, making his eyes widen in disbelief.

"Sir, our communications are being jammed!"

As he said this, the screen at the Asari's terminal began to flash red, making her turn to Blaster.

"Sir I am detecting an energy spike coming from the cruiser."

Outside, the cruiser's cannons on it's underbelly suddenly came to life and began targeting the buildings below them, a red glow emanating from within their barrels. Suddenly they opened fire, reducing three buildings to rubble in an instant before firing on the others around them. The explosions and destruction could be felt all the way down in the CIC as Blaster activated the intercom.

"Battle stations, we are under attack. All Autobots to Battle stations." The commander then turned to the Krogan.

"See if you can cut through the jamming, we need to contact Jackson Prime on the Ark."

"Yes sir." the Krogan replied while Blaster looked back at the main view-screen and watched as the Lakota continued to fire at the city around them.

_'I hope the Fearless received our message.'_  he thought as the room shook from another blast above.

Meanwhile on landing platform ten looked on at the utter devastation that was being inflicted on Omicron city , half of the Engineers and Medics just watched as they were paralysed by fear and shock of what was happening, though the Marines just looked angry as they stared at it. Quickstrike noticed this and he knew if he didn't do something, then he would almost certainly lose these people to their fear.

"Why hasn't the perimeter defences activated and taken that ship out?" one of the Medics asked.

"The defences are not yet ready for use yet, it's almost like whoever is attacking us was counting on that." Long-Arm replied as Quickstrike began walking in front of the group.

"Alright listen up." he said in a commanding tone, immediately gaining their attention as he stood between them and the chaos that was erupting in the City's center.

"I know your scared, but there will be Civilians caught in the chaos that ship is causing. So we are going to split into two teams made up of marines, engineers and medics, Lt Vega will lead one while I will lead the other." the Bot added as Vega smiled back at him.

"Hell yeah, I like your thinking. So what's the plan?"

" There are two main routes back towards the Command Tower, so each team will take one and find and escort any civilians they find to the evac zone at the base of the tower. Once there we will assist with the defence of the Hub, which is likely the enemy's target...Lets move out." Quickstrike said as the group began splitting into two, while Vega handed a rifle to the bot.

"Here, you will need that."

"Thanks, see you at the EZ." the Lt Commander replied.

"We get out of here in one piece, beers are on me...Loco." Vega said back with a smirk.

"Loco?" the Bot replied with a confused tone.

"You don't like it, I think it suits you.

"Alright, just make sure you get to the Command tower. We will need everyone to hold it." Quickstrike replied, gaining a nod from Vega as the Marine climbed aboard one of two MAKOs with his team while Quickstrike and Long-Arm boarded the other with their team. Then both MAKOs left in different directions, but with the same destination in mind as the enemy ship continued its assault on the city.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

The people were in an absolute panic in the shadow of the Achilles as it rained torpedoes down on to the streets around them, reducing the buildings to rubble in seconds as they attempted to flee the carnage. On the bridge, Ser-Ket could not help but notice the look of utter glee o Rip-Claw's face as the Femme watched the destruction on the screen before her.

"What an age we now live in, right Sister?" she said while watching another building explode and take another group of civilians with it as it collapsed over them. But the other Femme did not answer, earning a puzzled look from the Rip-Claw as she looked over to her sister.

"What's wrong, why..." Rip-Claw started to ask before a Terracon who was manning the sensors spoke out.

"We have a ship incoming." he said as another blip appeared on his screen and began closing on their location.

"What is it?" Rip-Claw asked as she turned her attention to the bot and away from Ser-Ket, who was relieved for the distraction as she too looked toward the Terracon.

"I have an ID for the ship from our database, it is the 'Fearless'. An Autobot dreadnought assigned to protect this colony, oh scrap." the Terracon said as he looked at the ship's details on his screen.

"The Achilles is no match for that ship, it's shields are strong enough to absorb any attack from us and the moment we are in range of it's weapons then we are as good as scrap." he added before Rip-Claw ripped him out of his chair and held him up in the air with a vice-like grip around his throat.

"Are you saying you want us to run rather than fight for our Lord Galvatron? Because that is not going to happen…is it?" the Femme spat as she narrowed her eyes at the fearful minion.

"No…I….live…..to serve…Galvatron." the Terracon managed to say between gasps for air as the Predacon Femme tightened her grip around his neck. After a few seconds of toying with the notion of whether to kill him, Rip-Claw dropped the Con.

"Good, now I want everyone to prepare for combat while I call in our 'friend' to assist us." she said before smiling deviously to Ser-Ket, while the Terracon crawled back onto his seat and began working with an even more fearful posture.

Meanwhile Long-Arm pushed the MAKO to it's limits as it sped through the streets of Omicron City, which now looked like a post apocalyptic landscape than the clean and busy town it was this morning. He and Quickstrike's group had stopped and picked up a few civilians each time, but now there wasn't even one as they continued past the smoldering and burning ruins. As the bot kept his eyes on the road ahead, Quickstrike looked back at the civilians as they received medical attention in the back of their vehicle.

"Quickstrike, I don't like this."

The Lt Commander gave him a funny look in return.

"Really? Well neither do I?"

"I mean, we haven't seen any ground forces yet from this as yet unknown enemy which seems more happy with blasting everything on the ground. But they have not even shot one torpedo at the Command Tower, and why is that?" Long-Arm replied as Quickstrike looked ahead at the destroyed buildings as they continued to zip by.

"Surely, that would be target one right?" the driver added, but he noticed that his friend was staying quiet and decided to change the subject.

"Alright I know that's classified, but tell me you have had some luck with your com-link at least?"

Quickstrike then tapped his and activated it again, but all he could hear was static so he shut it down again.

"No signal, these guys must be jamming all communications. I did manage to get through to the Fearless before the attack happened, hopefully they will get here and take that cruiser out."

Then just as the MAKO made a right turn into a back alley that was littered with pieces of concrete and other debris that the military all-terrain vehicle easily passed over, suddenly Quickstrike's holo-tool began beeping.

"What is it, are Comms back up?" Long-Arm asked.

"No, but the cavalry has arrived." the Lt Commander replied with a smile as above them the Fearless arrived at the edge of the city, it's cannons aiming at the Achilles.

"Who is in command of Fearless?" Long-Arm asked as he brought the MAKO to a stop and opened up the roof hatch to take a look at the dreadnought.

"Admiral Pentagast, he is one of Human Alliance heroes during the battle of Earth. He used the Fearless to defend the Destiny Ascension which was being attacked by three Reapers at once." Quickstrike replied as the Dreadnought closed in on the enemy cruiser.

"Well lets see them blow that cruiser out of the sky." Long-Arm said enthusiastically as the Fearless powered it's weapons and prepared to fire, but suddenly a loud roar echoed from the clouds above them. The group as they looked up to the sky, wondering what had caused it.

"What in the Allspark was that?" Quickstrike asked before three white energy blasts shot out of the clouds and passed through the Fearless's shields. Hitting the hull and freezing it on impact as a metallic winged Beast burst out of the clouds and descended towards the Autobot dreadnought at top speed, it had a light blue body with yellow shoulders and knees with two massive white wings that flapped with a great strength that would push clouds out of the beast's way.

"What the hell is that?" Long-Arm said in wide eyed shock as the beast opened it's mouth and fired two more ice blasts at the ship, freezing the cannons there into place.

On board the Achilles, the Terracons manning the bridge stations now looked relieved as the Predacon Dragon continued it's attack on the Fearless, taking it's attention from them as Rip-Claw tapped her com-link.

"Good Skystalker, now go for their engines and thrusters...freeze them up."

Ser-Ket walked up to the Femme and gave her a thoughtful look.

"How is that com up-link to Skystalker holding up?"

"It is working fine, Shockblast assured us that we would be able to maintain control of our beastial brethren with these up-links despite them being under the influence of Synthergon." Rip-Claw replied as the two Femmes watched as the beast evaded the cannon fire from the Autobot ship and froze three stabilizing thrusters on it's starboard side. Skystalker then rose up high above the Fearless and then folded its wings in and dive bombed at the dreadnought, firing several more ice blasts that impacted the hull and damaged some more of it's cannons before the Beast extended it's wings and pulled up gracefully. It then flew the length of the ship, evading the cannon fire from the few remaining active weapon emplacements on it's hull. The Dragon then descended under the Fearless and began freezing the thruster ports and cannons on it's ventral side, when suddenly a burst of bullets flew past it's head.

So Skystalker turned it's head as it flapped it's wings and saw a squadron of fighters on it's tail, so it roared at then before pulling away from the Fearless. The fighters followed and fired on the beast again but the creature went into a spin, so the weapons fire missed again. The Predacon then turned on to it's back and looked at the Autobot fighters before unleashing it's ice attack in one continuous blast, three of the fighters managed to evade it but two were caught in it fully and froze. Skystalker then turned back round and roared as the frozen fighters dropped out of the sky and exploded as the impacted on the ground below.

Quickstrike and his team just continued to watch as the Beast headed back toward the city again with the remaining fighters re-engaging him, when suddenly the Predacon pulled a loop on the Autobot fighters and was now following them as the pilots began trying to evade and lose the creature, but it as it flapped it's white wings and came right up behind the fighters. Skystalker opened it's jaws and bit clean through the wings of one, causing it to spin out of control and crash into the side of the Command tower.

The Beast then fired another ice blast which clipped the second remaining fighter, making the pilot lose balance and eject from the damaged vehicle. But as he pulled his shoot, the Autobot looked to his left just in time to see the open jaws of the Predacon before they closed on him and his body was ripped to pieces by it's extremely sharp teeth. The last fighter managed to get away and it fly around the Command tower, hoping for the chance to get a shot at the winged beast. But all of a sudden the pilot felt his cockpit shake with tremendous force before noticing that a pair of claws were gripping his wings. He looked up out of roof of his canopy with a fearful expression as he saw that his fighter was in the hands of the Predacon, which looked down at him and roared before throwing the fighter into the Command Tower. The vehicle impacted on the Autobot emblem, which was dislodged from it's position and fell to the ground below.

Skystalker then reaffirmed it's attention on the now defenceless Dreadnought as it finished freezing up it's thrusters with it's ice blasts, before flying to the aft of the ship where it's massive engines located.

"Do it Skystalker, bring down that enemy ship." the Beast heard Rip-Claw say in it's mind, so it took an upright position while keeping its powerful wings flapping so it would not lose altitude. It then roared as a white light glowed beneath it's armoured chest, rising up it's neck and into it's throat as the Beast opened it's jaws and let loose with a massive ice blast that enveloped the Fearless's engines and caused them to flame out.

"By the Allspark." Long-Arm said in shock as he, Quickstrike and their team watched as the Autobot dreadnought began to slowly drop out of the sky. Even Blaster and his CIC staff could not even believe what they had just seen, as they watched the Fearless on their main screen.

"Prepare for ground assault." the Commander said as everyone around him began readying their weapons.

Meanwhile there were smiles all round on the bridge of the Achilles as Rip-Claw and the Terracons saw the Autobot ship continue to descend until it crashed into the ground just outside the city's perimeter. Even Ser-Ket was smiling but this did not last long as a Terracon turned to Rip-Claw.

"The Fearless has crash-landed and it's shields are down."

This made the Femme's smile grow wider while her Sister's disappeared.

"Target the ship with a full spread of torpedoes and missiles."

"Rip-Claw, we should take the crew prisoner." Ser-Ket suggested, but the other Femme ignored her while keeping her attention on the Terracon.

"Fire!"

The minion then looked back at his interface and smiled as he tapped a button there, and suddenly the Achilles fired several torpedoes and missiles which all successfully hit the defenceless dreadnought. Multiple explosions covered the hull until the Fearless could not take anymore and exploded to the sounds of cheering coming from the Predacon crew, as debris was sent up into the air followed by black smoke.

"Time to go in and secure the Hub." Rip-Claw then said as she started for the door, only to stop and look back at Ser-Ket when she had noticed the other Femme had not moved.

"Are you coming?" she said, the growl in her voice more noticeable as Ser-Ket looked at the smoldering wreck of the Fearless on the screen.

"Yeah, sure." the Femme replied before turning around and following Rip-Claw out of the room.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

The MAKO had picked up the pace now as Long-Arm pushed the vehicle to it's limit, as it sped down what was the home straight back to the Command Tower. Everyone onboard was quiet ever since they had just witnessed the destruction of the Fearless at the hands of the unknown enemy cruiser and their winged beast.

"That Beast….It looked kinda like a Dragon to me...a robotic Dragon." one of the Marines said while talking amongst the group at the back of the vehicle, Quickstrike and Long-Arm both heard this and the former looked back at the group.

"A Dragon, you serious soldier?" he replied with a disbelieving look.

"Well what else could it be? It was moving too fluid and graceful to be purely machine, I mean the way it outmaneuvered the Fearless and it's fighters. If it reminded me of anything, then I would say the footage we were shown at school of the Great War between the Autobots and Decepticons."

Suddenly Long-Arm's eyes widened as if he thought of something, this did not go unnoticed by Quickstrike who still needed some convincing after hearing the Marine.

"What is it?"

"Did you ever learn about Ancient Cybertronian history at school Quickstrike?" the driver asked before turning the MAKO around a derelict vehicle that had been crushed by a large piece of concrete.

"Maybe, I think I pretty much zoned out whenever at History class." his friend replied as he remembered flirting with the girls in his class back then. Long-Arm just shook his head in response.

"Well if I can recall, my history teacher said that it was rumored that Cybertron was inhabited by Beasts that looked a lot like the one we just seen. But they went extinct during the Great Cataclysm and left next to no evidence of their existence."

And what were these Beasts called? Not that I believe you." Quickstrike replied.

"If I remember correctly….Predacons." the other Bot said as he took his eyes off the road and towards the Dragon as it circled the Command Tower's peak, when suddenly a shuttle came down and hovered off the ground in front of them.

"Look out!" Quickstrike shouted as Long-Arm hit the breaks and swerved out of the shuttle's way by mere inches, coming to a stop just aways from it. The driver looked back at their passengers as Quickstrike climbed out of the MAKO and made his way towards the shuttle.

"Is everyone alright back there?" the Bot asked, and one of the Medics looked up at him and nodded.

"I think we are okay, just some bumps and bruises so nothing serious."

"Alright then, time to get out. Your ride is here." Long-Arm replied as they began to exit the vehicle. The engineering bot then met up with his friend as he finished speaking to the shuttle pilot.

"So is this our stop?" Long-Arm asked as the marines helped the rest of the group out of the MAKO.

"Yeah, this is as far as the civilians, Medics and Engineers will go...and for you too..." Quickstrike started to reply, gaining a shocked look from his friend.

"... Because I have to stay and help defend the Command tower, if that falls…." he continued to say before Long-Arm cut him off.

"What! If your staying then so am I."

The Lt Commander placed a hand on his friend's shoulder in response.

"Your job now is to make sure the Civilians here get to safety, we will keep the enemy's attention down here. Plus with communications down, the Federation has no idea what is happening here, so you have to tell them. Now go." he said while gesturing to his friend and the others.

"But..." Long-Arm replied.

"Go!" Quickstrike said back in a more commanding tone, surprising the Engineer Bot who still just stood there. Not wanting to abandon his friend to the odds that were staking up against him.

"Do I need to pull rank?" he added, knowing that usually shut Long-Arm up. And just as he thought, his friend finally accepted defeat and nodded somberly to him.

"Good luck."

"You too, I'll see you later." Quickstrike replied as they shook hands, then Long-Arm entered the shuttle with the rest of the group and civilians. The Lt Commander than watched along with the rest of the marines as the shuttle closed it's hatch and took off into the sky.

_'Go on, make it.'_  he thought with a slight smile before that disappeared as the Beast then flew up towards them

_'No!'_

Skystalker flapped it's wings and gained on the shuttle, which had put everything into it's engines as it shot up like a missile through the sky. The beast then opened it's jaws and fired and ice blast which froze one of the three engines on the aft of the shuttle. But luckily for Long-Arm and the civilians, their craft had made it high enough to make orbit while Skystalker was finding it hard to keep up and eventually gave up and glided back down to the city below. Quickstrike smiled again as he realised they had made it.

_'Stay safe.'_  he thought before turning back to the marines.

"Alright according to the shuttle pilot, Lt Vega and his team are already at the Command tower and enemy ground troops are attacking. So we will join them and hold it from this enemy, understand?"

All the soldiers nodded without even an inkling of fear in their faces.

"Good, move out."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

The battle at the base of the Command Tower was frantic as Vega opened fire on a group of enemy soldiers, the bullets from his mini-gun ripping through the purple and black armour of these foes and spilling blood all over the floor around them.

"Yeah, have some of that!" he shouted back as his marines held their position at the top of the stairs leading to main entrance. They literally had the high ground advantage on these enemy soldiers...whoever they were, but Vega was wondering what was keeping Quickstrike and his team.

"Anything on the Comms yet?" he called over to a marine who was taking cover and working on his holo-tool.

"No luck James, that cruiser is still jamming all frequencies." the soldier answered while shaking his head. Vega felt his heart sink a little at that answer but then responded by firing on another group of enemies that were trying rush their defensive line.

"Yeah, like shooting fish in a barrel." the marine Lt shouted again, obviously enjoying the battle.

"If you say so James." another marine to Vega's left replied as they shot down another group of the advancing enemy, before suddenly a gunship flew down in front of it's allies and began charging it's cannons as they were aimed at the group.

"Take cover!" Vega shouted when suddenly out of nowhere, the other MAKO appeared and blew the gunship out of the air with it's cannon.

The Marine Lt smiled as a familiar face could be seen behind the vehicle's canopy.

"You took your sweet time Loco?

"We took a wrong turn, and had an early meet up with the shuttle." Quickstrike replied while shooting one of the enemies in the head as he got out of the MAKO, while one of the marines took over.

"Yeah, I told that shuttle once they had our civilians on board to find you. Tell me…..did they make it?" Vega asked as he shot dead another enemy soldier. Quickstrike and the rest of the marines joined the building's defensive line as the MAKO came around between them and the enemy, firing several shots out and scattering the enemy troops.

"Yeah, it was a close call. But they made it out." the Lt Commander replied, earning a look of relief on Vega's face as there was a pause in the enemy offensive.

"Gracias Loco, but I wish things were better here because I don't know how long we will hold out with just one MAKO." the Marine replied as his men reshaped their defensive line and waited for the next attack. Quickstrike knelt down beside him next to the concrete slab that was being used as cover.

"Where is your MAKO?" he asked, making Vega point over to the burning wreck just aways from them.

"Damn bastards used a missile launcher on it, managed to take it out in a few hits. I am sure we took the one out that was using that heavy weapon, but can't say that they won't have another."

"What about that Dragon….Beast….thing, any sign of that?"

"Saw it flying around above the tower earlier, but nothing since. That thing has me on edge." Vega replied.

"Yeah me too, what about those doors?" Quickstrike asked as he pointed at the building's entrance.

"Can't we get in and barricade them?" he asked, making the Marine shake his head.

"No, they are sealed shut. When under attack and with no communication with the outside , then the facility has to go into lock-down." Vega answered in a text-book like tone.

"So we are on our own then." the Lt Commander replied.

"Looks that way…..okay here they come again, everyone look sharp and take them down!" he then shouted to his men as they all began firing their weapons at the enemy soldiers who began advancing on the Command tower again, with the added echo of the MAKO's cannon firing off shots into the enemy lines.

Meanwhile at their landing site, both Rip-Claw and Ser-Ket stood and watched from outside of their shuttle as their Terracons continued to attack the tower. Both Femmes were wearing using holo-binoculars to view the action, and Rip-Claw liked what she saw.

"I think it is time for me to join this battle, it has been long enough since I last felt an Autobot break in my hands." she said.

"Well I think it would be best if we got rid of that MAKO first, don't you think so?" Ser-Ket said sarcastically, earning a growl from her sister.

"Very well." she huffed before activating her com-link.

"Skystalker, destroy that vehicle and clear the area of our enemies." she said before a Beast-like shadow flew over them and up to the building's entrance.

"Look out!" one of the Marines shouted as the Predacon flew in and with a few flaps of it's strong wings, the gusts it created sent the Autobots nearest to it flying through the air before hitting the ground hard.

"Take that monster out!" Vega shouted into his com-link before the MAKO turned it's cannon towards Skystalker who had landed on all fours and folded it's wings, it then turned it's head at the vehicle and opened it's mouth as the inside began to glow with white light.

"Fire!" Vega shouted, but before the MAKO could give off a shot. The Predacon fired it's ice breath at the tank and froze it to the spot in a large chunk of ice which killed the Marine inside instantly.

"Take that fucking thing out now!" the Lieutenant then spat at his men, who all advanced on the Beast who began to back away as bullets rebounded and deflected off it's metal skin. Vega moved up to join his men when he felt a hand grab his shoulder firmly, so he looked back to see Quickstrike who was glaring at him.

"What are you doing?"

"We are gonna kill that monster, come on Loco." he said defiantly as he brushed off the Bot's hand and ran down to join his men as he fired his assault rifle at the beast as it slowly retreated backwards.

"We've got it on the run, keep going." one of the Marines shouted to his friends over the gunfire before Skystalker let loose with a long sweeping shot of it's ice breath which enveloped all the marines in front of it and froze them in place except for Vega, who dived behind some cover. Then the Predacon turned around quickly and swung it's tail through every single frozen marine in one go, smashing them into small bloody icicles on the floor. As the huge Beast turned itself back to face the building's entrance, James Vega stood back up to see that every man in his squad was now in small icy pieces all over the floor, and he felt his anger and rage building up as he clenched his fist and looked up at the Beast which looked back at him with curiosity.

"Vega, get out of there!" Quickstrike shouted, but the Marine did not listen as he raised his rifle and fired it at the Predacon, holding the trigger down hard as his weapon unloaded every last bullet he had left. But all this did was make the Beast blink at him as the bullets once again rebounded off his face harmlessly, before the gun ran out of ammo and Vega was left standing with used up bullet casings lying around his being. He then dropped the empty gun and activated his holo-blade and beckoned the monster to him.

"Come on you fucking Beast, lets have it! He spat as he began charging towards Skystalker who lunged his head forward with his jaws open, showing rows of razor sharp teeth. And before Vega could even swing his melee weapon, the jaws clamped around him and the Predacon lifted him up into the air before biting down hard and hearing armour and bone crack along with the tearing of flesh as blood poured out from the marine's body as he died right there and then.

"No!" Quickstrike shouted out with wide eyed shock at the Beast who looked back at him, still with the dead body of James Vega in it's mouth. But it then swung it's head to the left and let go of the body which then flew through the air until it landed like a rag doll in the fire that was currently burning brightly from what was left of the first MAKO.

Quickstrike readied himself for the beast as he raised his weapon to it, despite knowing what little good it would actually accomplish. Skystalker meanwhile prepared it self to pounce at the bot before another voice gained both their attention.

"Skystalker heel!" a Female voice called out, making the Dragon pull away and back off as the Autobot saw two female soldiers with helmets on standing just away from him with more of the enemy soldiers behind them.

"You are outnumbered and have no chance of victory, surrender now and we will let you live." said the one in the green and yellow light armour as the other female standing beside scoffed at her words. This one was wearing light blue and red armour which made her look far more built compared to the one that had spoken first, who had a more athletic physique.

"No, too many of my friends have died here for me to just roll over and let you pass without a fight." Quickstrike replied as he stood ready for whatever came next.

"There is no nee….." Ser-Ket began to say before Rip-Claw pushed her aside and began walking towards the Bot.

"No more talk, this one wants to fight to the death. I say we let him and I…..Rip-Claw will end his life." she said, as Quickstrike took note of her more deeper and feral voice as he dropped his nearly empty weapon on the floor and activated his holo-blade, this gained a smirk from Rip-Claw from behind her helmet as a blade ejected from the forearm section of her armour and she raised it, showing the stained blood covering it. The Terracons and Ser-Ket just watched as both Bot and Femme began to circle each other.

"Autobot, this blade has tasted many of your Brothers before this day. Know that I will be adding yours to it as well." Rip-Claw said before swinging her blade at Quickstrike who blocked and deflected it with his own blade, before he pushed her back and then took a step away to regain some space between them.

"I guess that just gives me more reason to kill you then." he replied before lunging in with an attack, one that the Femme blocked before kneeing him in the chest and then back handing his face, making him fall onto his backside.

"Your not even trying, it is not because I am Female is it. Because if it is that, then I will take even more pleasure in snuffing out your spark." Rip-Claw said before swinging her blade down at the Bot, who rolled away and got back to his feet before jumping back in with a lunge of his holo-blade, which caught the Predacon on her shoulder before he then punched her helmet, making her stagger back in surprise.

"No I don't hit women, but I think that with you an exception can be made this once." Quickstrike replied, making the Femme grit her teeth as her spark began to become enraged. Ser-Ket continued to watch as this Autobot began to take a more offensive role against her Sister, and she could not help but be impressed by his technique and skill. For she had seen many Autobots die too easily by Rip-Claw's hands during their commandeering of the Achilles and other ISF ships so far since their reawakening, so to see one Bot prove otherwise was very refreshing. But then as Ser-Ket witnessed Quickstrike sweep her Sister off her feet, she saw that Rip-Claw was getting very angry. So much so that her body armour was beginning to flinch and twitch.

' _Oh no, not now!_ ' she thought as the Autobot swung his blade down on his opponent who then surprised him by grabbing his blade and holding it there as she started to change before him.

"You think you will win, have a taste of this!" she spat before swiping at him with her free hand and cleaving some of his armour off from his chest plate, making him stagger back and notice five large cuts in his armour. Quickstrike looked back at Rip-Claw with wide eyed shock as she started to change, her armour took on a more feral look and her hands had become more like claws. She had also gained far more muscle and some extra height.

"I will have your spark!" she spat before roaring at the Bot and charging toward him. And before he knew what to do, Rip-Claw hit him so hard that he felt his armour crack and she sent him flying into the wall next to the Command Tower's entrance with a loud thud, one that winded him somewhat as he fell back to the floor. The beastial Predacon then walked over to him and raised her razor sharp claw in the air, readying to deliver the final blow.

"Rip-Claw stop!" Ser-Ket shouted at her sister, earning a dagger like stare from the powered up femme.

"What!" Rip-Claw spat back, who's voice was filled with rage. Meanwhile Quickstrike tried to move but found he had no strength left from that last hit, he felt like he had been hit by a wrecking ball. All he could do was look up at the two Females, as the one in green and yellow armour stood between him and Rip-Claw.

"Are you forgetting Lord Galvatron's orders? We are to take prisoners, which requires them to still be alive!" Ser-Ket spat at the Femme, not caring that at this moment the other Predacon towered over her.

"Fine, you want a prisoner then take him. I will lead the final assault on this Command Tower, but if you ever get in between me and my kill…I may forget that we are Sisters!" Rip-Claw spoke through gritted teeth as she brought one of her claws up to the other Femme's helmet. But Ser-Ket knocked it away.

"Don't threaten me Rip-Claw." she replied as the two stared daggers at each other for a moment, before the larger Femme turned away towards the building's entrance.

"Predacons with me, we have to smash our way in."

Ser-Ket looked down at the beaten Quickstrike and sighed before bringing her attention to two Terracons near her.

"You two, take him to our ship's brig." she ordered and the two minions then picked up the defeated Autobot and dragged him back to their shuttle as she watched them go, before following with a confused expression on her face as she felt and not for the first time since her reawakening….that she didn't really fit in with her Predacon brethren.


	10. Chapter 10

A Terracon stood at his post on the bridge of the Icarus while his brethren worked around him, manning the other stations such as engineering, security and helm. He himself was working at Communications and so far the Predacon soldier was having a busy day, since he had been relaying messages between the other ships in their growing armada as they were being sent to different coordinates in and around the Sol system, and even though their Lord Galvatron would not come out and say it. The troops could see that he was planning something big, and the Predacon Leader was barely holding back any of their forces from whatever it was. A loud beeping sound began ringing out from the communication station's holo-interface, so the Terracon tapped a finger against the flashing button titled 'Incoming transmission'.

"What is the safe word." the soldier spoke into his com-link.

Terrorise!" the female voice replied as the minion's holo-screen brought up an image and matching voice pattern, with the name Rip-Claw alongside it.

"That is confirmed Commander Rip-Claw." the Terracon said back.

"Put me through to Lord Galvatron immediately." the Femme snapped, gaining a fast and fearful movement from the minion as he went about contacting the Predacon Leader. But before he did so, Galvatron entered the bridge, gaining the attention of every Terracon there and immediately making them nervous. This was a usual reaction to the Predacon Leader but more recently, it has been because Galvatron has been acting a little erratic. He has been looking around and glaring at nothing in particular, almost like he can see something that the others can not. Galvatron then looked directly at the Comms-Terracon, his red eyes narrowing as the minion stared back like deer caught in car headlights.

"What are you staring at?" he barked, making the Terracon even more nervous and fearful.

"I...have Rip-Claw on the line...Lord Galvatron."

The Predacon Leader walked up behind the Comms-Terracon and looked at his screen.

"Rip-Claw report."

Galvatron's voice came through on the femme's com-link as she stood in front of the final blast door between herself and the Command Tower's CIC. She had calmed down since her fight with Quickstrike and had reverted to normal look.

"Rip-Claw report."

"Lord Galvatron, we are about to take the CIC and gain full control of the Communications Hub." Rip-Claw replied with the sounds of plasma torches burning could be heard around her.

"Excellent work Rip-Claw, keep me apprised on your progress." the Predacon Leader said back.

"Yes my Lord, Rip-Claw out." the femme replied before ending the transmission. Galvatron then looked at the Terracon in front of him, his shadow cast over the nervous minion.

"Inform me immediately when Rip-Claw is back online."

"Y..ye...yes lord Galvatron." the Terracon stammered, earning an eye roll from the Predacon Leader as he turned around, only for him to stop in his tracks with his eyes widening as Megatron stood in front of him, looking around the room before sighing.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same." he said while watching the Terracons working, not unlike the way the Vehicons used to, but there was something missing from their behavior. Galvatron though did not want to cause a scene that should make his troops question him, so he simply gritted his teeth as he attempted to ignore the hallucination and walk past him.

"Pity the Terracons do not fear you in the same way my troops feared me, perhaps they can sense that you are simply a copy of a greater Cybertronian." Megatron added with a sly grin, showing off his sharp teeth. But even though Galvatron could feel his spark burning with the desire to rip this ghost apart with his bare hands, he instead just took a deep breath and carried on walking to the exit while leaving a perplexed and disappointed Megatron standing there on his own.

"Come now Galvatron, it is no fun if you don't argue back." he jokingly pleaded, before following the Predacon Leader out of the room.

Meanwhile back in Omicron City, inside the soon to be breached CIC. Blaster and his men were preparing for what was likely to be their final fight, for they knew from what they had seen previously that all of their forces outside of the tower were now dead, and the city was now under their control. Blaster loaded up his rifle before turning his attention to his comms-officer.

"Still no luck breaking the jammers?" he asked, earning a worried look from the Krogan as he shook his head in return.

"No sir, everything I have tried just has not been enough to cut through all that noise that the enemy has been bombarding our comms with ever since they began their attack."

The Commander then joined the Krogan at his station and handed him a shotgun.

"Here, take this and help the others over there. I am going to try something that worked back during the War for Cybertron."

The Krogan nodded and went over to the makeshift cover that the others were preparing near the blast door that was currently being cut through by the enemy. Blaster then began typing onto the holo-keyboard as he looked at the Interface's screen, making the power levels for Hub's transmitter array go through the roof while one of his team noticed and watched him.

"Sir, why are you overloading the array?" the Salarian asked, gaining the Commander's attention.

"It's not what you think. During the Cybertronian War, the Decepticons would jam all of our comms during an attack so that we should be unable to call for backup or warn the others. But we found that if we gave the transmission a large enough boost of power, it could break through the jamming and be heard by the other Autobots."

"Well sir I hope it works because whoever this enemy is, they are nearly through the last blast door." the Salarian replied while pointing over to said door, which the Commander could see was beginning to come off it's hinges as they were being burnt away, so the Autobot returned his attention to the comms terminal.

Once he was happy with the level of power going into the array, Blaster then started to record his message.

"Jackson Prime do you read, an unknown force is blitzing Omicron City. We are really taking a pounding, don't know how much longer we can hold out."

Suddenly as he finished the message and pressed the send button, the blast door was suddenly broken off it's melted hinges and fell to the ground with a loud clang before weapons fire flooded the room and the Terracons moved in. Blaster shot two of them directly in their chests while taking cover behind the communication station, but as both sides exchanged fire, the Commander could see that his men really couldn't last long against this kind of pressure. Every time that an enemy soldier was killed, two of the Autobots were taken down in response.

After another moment of fighting passed, a Female soldier in light blue and red armour entered the fight alongside the enemy soldiers and she looked almost possessed in the way she fought. For it seemed she liked getting up close and cutting down Autobots with her holo-blades, a big smile on her face the whole time as she continued to slice and dice her way through their numbers while her soldiers supported her with covering fire.

Blaster then spotted the Salarian from a few minutes ago, as he was cowering behind one of the terminals. He looked like he had just given up as he sat there, his expression one of fear while his gun lied on the floor next to him. Unbeknownst to the scared Salarian, the female soldier was almost upon him. So Blaster got up from his cover and fired at the Female as his men continued to die around him, the enemy soldier dived behind cover herself as the Terracons began firing at the Autobot. Blaster though kept his cool and shot a number of the enemies as he moved between cover, making his way to the Salarian who seemed oblivious to the whole situation as he sat their with his head in his hands. Blaster continued to fire at the enemies and the female soldier, ensuring that she stayed where she was as he made it to the Salarian.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god." he kept whispering frantically as the Commander knelt next to him before shooting one enemy in the face who was getting to close.

"Come on soldier, we need to move." Blaster said, but the scared Salarian just ignored him.

"I know your scared, but you did sign up for this. So get it together and fight." the Commander continued, but it still fell on deaf ears. So the Autobot then slapped the Salarian's face, making the soldier look back at him in shock.

"Pull yourself together because I need your help, now follow my lead." Blaster said back in a firm and commanding tone, one that the Salarian quickly nodded at him and started to get up into a kneeling position as he picked up his gun, when suddenly he jerked as the tip of a holo-blade burst through his chest. The bot's eyes widened as the Salarian looked at him in horror before dying there and then, as blood began to pour out of the wound. Before Blaster could do anything, the blade was pulled back out of the now dead soldier and the Female enemy stood up from behind the station and smiled at the Autobot.

"I don't know why I am wasting my time asking this, perhaps it is my Sister's constant nagging. But I suppose it might be too much for you to surrender now, since your men are all dead...please tell your not considering it?" she asked as she raised her arm and showed him the still active holo-blade, with the Salarian's blood dripping of it's tip. Blaster's eyes narrowed as he stared at the blade and then back at then Female, who looked at him with an evil smirk.

"I take that as a no then, good." she replied before the Bot lunged at her with the butt of his rifle. But the Female was far quicker than he and dodged Blaster's attack before slicing into his back with her blade, not too deeply but just enough to cut through his armour and draw blood. He grimaced in pain before turning back to his opponent, who's smile was even bigger now that she had his blood staining her holo-blade. She was definitely taking pleasure out of this and this only made the Autobot even more angry and determined to take her down, though what had not gone unnoticed by the Bot was the fact that the other soldiers had not engaged him at all since the Female got involved physically with him, so she must be their Leader.

' _So all I have to do is beat this bitch and that should give me the upper hand against these assholes._ ' Blaster thought as he raised his hand to the female Fnd beckoned her over to him in a sarcastic way.

"Come on sweetheart, lets dance." he said, earning a dagger like stare from his opponent. She then swung her blade at him and he stepped to the side, leaving her exposed to attack and he replied by punching the female in the side, making Rip-Claw grunt as she staggered to the left slightly.

"How'd you like that?" Blaster asked as the Predacon looked up at him, making the Bot look down at the emblem on her armour which made his eyes widen in disbelief.

' _Impossible, that just can't be._ ' he thought as he recognised the symbol from his understanding of his former home world's history.

"You're a Predacon, but…." the Autobot said, earning a knowing look from the Femme who took this as an opportunity and attacked him while he was distracted. Rip-Claw lunged at him with an uppercut that knocked him backwards as it connected with his jaw, making him stagger backwards as she recovered and then swung her holo-blade which made contact with Blaster's chest plate and cut right through it, spurting out blood over his armour as he fell back onto his back with the Femme now standing over him. The Autobot then caught sight of his rifle just to his left as Rip-Claw moved closer to him, her shadow slowing covering his entire body. So he tried to reach for it, his fingers straining to touch at it's metal grip, but then he screamed out loud as the Predacon drove her blade right through his wrist, his blood spilling out into a puddle around his hand and arm.

"Now, now. I am not using a gun so why should you be allowed to, Autobot." she said with a smile while looking down at Blaster, who then rolled onto his side and held on to his arm which continued to bleed out. The Femme just chuckled before looking around the room to see only dead Autobots of varying species laying at the feet of her Terracons, so she tapped her com-link.

"Get me Lord Galvatron." she said, waiting a few seconds before the commanding voice of her Leader could be heard.

"Rip-Claw, report." he replied.

"Omircon City and the Autobot Communications Hub is ours my Lord, just waiting on Shockblast's program to be downloaded to my holo-tool so we can disable the Autobot's galaxy wide communication network. Which will allow you to attack any world in the Federation." she then said coldly, making Blaster's eyes widen as he heard her speak those words and so desperately grabbed at her legs.

"NO!" he shouted, gaining her attention.

"You still not dead yet?" she asked sarcastically before pulling her pistol out of it's holster and aiming it at the Bot's head.

"I can correct that." she added before firing three shots into Blaster's face, killing the Autobot once and for all as the bullets went clean through, leaving a splatter of blood on the ground underneath.

"What was that?" Galvatron asked, wondering what had just happened.

"Just executing an Autobot my Lord, so when can we expect the program?" Rip-Claw replied casually.

"I will get Shockblast to send it now, good work Rip-Claw. I am certainly proud of your accomplishments this day, because you and the crew of the Achilles have ensured that our plans now have more than a sliver's chance of success."

"Thank you Lord Galvatron. Also I thought you would like to know that we should have a number of Autobot Prisoners too, I'll have Ser-Ket see to their imprisonment after she has dealt with an Autobot we captured." the Femme replied with a sense of pride in her voice.

"Good, make sure to gain as much Intel as you can from them, but as of right now I want you to not only disable the Communications Hub, but also to strike out at the other cities on the planet and make Omicron Colony an 'Alpha site' for our forces. Just on the off chance that the Autobots attempt to come to Cybertron again." the Predacon leader said, earning a nod from the Femme.

"Don't want to keep all your energon in one tank?"

"Yes, so I will not hold you back from your duties any further Rip-Claw. Galvatron out."

As the com-link deactivated, Rip-Claw turned to the other Terracons and gave them a stern look.

"Alright, lets get to work."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile the Normandy was flying at hyper-speed as it flew towards the nearest Space-bridge, so that that Liara T'Soni could be returned to her mother on Thessia. On board the Autobot frigate, inside the briefing room, Rodimus, Orion, Liara, Nightracer, Shen and Red-Alert were sitting around the large table as holo-orb of blue light was being emitted from it's center. The Asari had been going through what had happened when the Icarus had landed on Cybertron a month previously, and everyone listened intently as she spoke.

Liara had recollected her team's finding of the labs that belonged to the Decepticon Shockwave, how they found and awakened the one who called himself Galvatron and how he killed everyone around her. And also how he had changed and brainwashed her then-boyfriend Shockblast and his brother Six-shot and with their help took control of the Icarus and slaughtered everyone else. When the Asari had finished speaking, she went quiet and just stared down at the table in front of her, before taking a sip from her glass of water. Orion hadn't taken his eyes off of her for the entirety of her debriefing and now seeing her sink back into her chair like this, he guessed that having to remember such stained memories had been a lot for her to process. The Bot wanted nothing more than to place a hand on her shoulder and tell her it would be alright, but then again that would have been a lie. For how could it be alright for Liara who had watched as the man she had loved being 'reformatted' and made to believe that she and everyone around her were now his enemies.

During her description of those events, Nightracer had asked if it was at all possible that what had been done to the brothers could very well be reversed. But Liara simply replied that she thought it would not be possible, since she believed that there was no longer any part of her Lover left in his spark, because for one thing…Shockblast certainly had no qualms about killing her, for he did not remember or even recognise her. And as she spoke those words, Orion could see how much that had hurt Liara inside, even if she did try to hide it behind a professionalism that the Asari were well known for having due to their long life-spans.

But this also confused the Bot because since he had met the Asari, he had sworn that there was a slither of a connection between them. And now, having found out about her relationship with Shockblast, had felt guilty for slowly pushing that connection further. But the Spectre was brought out of his thoughts as Rodimus began to speak.

"Liara, thank you for telling us everything that had happened on Cybertron. And I am very sorry for your loss, I believe everyone here will agree with me that this 'Galvatron' will be made to pay for what he did to Shockblast, his Brother and the entire crew of the Icarus."

Everyone around the Asari nodded in agreement as Liara looked back at Commander with a curious look.

"So when do we go back?" she asked suddenly with a rather resolute expression that gained a confused stare from Rodimus.

"Go back?"

"To Cybertron of course, Galvatron and the 'others' have had the run of place for over a month now. Who knows what they are up too." Liara replied, and honestly what she just said did make a lot of sense with Orion right now, because with what he had just learnt about this Man during this debriefing. It certainly felt like something that they needed to get on with right away.

"I have to second that, we should check this out." the Bot said, earning a slight smile from the Asari at his backing of her idea. Orion returned the smile and then looked around at his friends and they too looked like they would be in favor, but Rodimus was not going for it as he looked between both Orion and Liara with a stern expression.

"Well while I can appreciate your opinion on this Orion, but perhaps you are forgetting that we have orders that we must complete first, which is to return Dr T'Soni to her mother back on Thessia…" the Commander said before Orion cut him off.

"But we are Autobot Spectres, I thought that gave us some leeway in the 'orders' department?"

"I think you have this version of the Spectres confused with the originals. You know, the chaotic ones that did whatever they wanted to get the job done. Making the need for a more controlled Spectres not only a requirement…..but a necessity."

"So we are to just sit here with our backsides firmly on our hands and wait, as Galvatron carries on with whatever the hell it is that he is doing. I mean what about the Autobot/Federation ships that have been going missing this past month, I somehow doubt having heard what Liara has just told us makes those events just a big coincidence."

As Orion and Rodimus carried on arguing, Liara turned to Shen with a curious expression.

"What does he mean 'missing ships'?"

The Turian managed to look away from his best friend clashing heads with their Leader and turn his attention to the Asari sitting to his left.

"Over the past month a large number of light cruisers, transports and civilian ships have gone missing in the sector that borders with the Terminus systems that we all know are controlled by the Omega Syndicate. And with what you said to us, I do have to agree with Orion as that sector does also border with the one that Cybertron is located in."

As they talked, Nightracer looked over to them.

"What you guys talking about?" she asked and just as the Turian was about to answer, the argument between Orion and Rodimus heated up.

"It's not your place to tell me what our job is Orion." Rodimus spat.

The young Bot crossed his arms at that response.

"Really, is that so. Because I thought that as I am now your XO, that it is in my job description to give you my view and advise you."

Rodimus felt a smile trying to break through the stern expression he was trying to keep in front of his team, for the Commander knew Orion was right about that and it gave him a proud feeling to see the young Bot taking the role he had been given seriously. So the older Bot took a deep breath before speaking.

"Alright, you have me there. Look the best I can do is talk to Command and see what they want to do first. So while I am doing that, if you Orion could handle Liara's accommodations while she is on board as it will still be several hours until we reach the space bridge. That should be enough time for us to know what to do next."

Orion nodded back with a slight smile, knowing that was the best that they could get with the current situation as the Commander looked at Shen, Nightracer and Red-Alert who had been quiet and observing during the whole debriefing.

"Alright then, everyone dismissed." Rodimus said before everyone left the room, leaving the Commander there on his own. Orion and Liara walked towards the elevator while the others decided to stay in the CIC and talk, so he opened the elevator's door and let the Asari enter first before following her in and pressed for their desired floor on the control panel. And as the elevator descended to the floor below, both Bot and Asari said nothing as the atmosphere felt somewhat tense. Liara looked over to Orion and was about to say something when the elevator stopped at the crew deck, it's doors sliding open to reveal crewmen walking about the corridors.

"If you will follow me." the Bot said back as he walked onto the deck, followed closely by Liara as they walked down the corridor and stopped outside one of the connecting doors.

"Here we are." he added as he opened the door, which allowed the pair to enter the room which had basic furniture, cupboards and a large bed. The Asari looked around the room as Orion stood by and watched her.

"I hope this is alright?" he asked with a distracted tone, making Liara look back at him and nod in return.

"Yes, this will be fine."

So the Bot nodded back and was about to leave when his name was called.

"Orion, what's wrong?" the Asari asked, earning his attention as be stopped and looked back at her.

"Liara...I am really sorry about your 'friends'." he replied, which made the blue woman look at him in surprise and confusion.

"What this Galvatron did to them was beyond terrible." he added as she remained quiet and listened.

' _Well this is now awkward._ ' he thought as it went very quiet between them both. But now that he knew that Liara had somebody else who was special to her, the Bot wanted to know more. Though he knew going down this path was as far from the one that he thought the two of them were heading originally.

"Yes, it truly was." Liara replied as she looked down to the floor, a sombre expression on her face.

"So Shockblast must have been a hell of a guy?" Orion asked, catching her off guard again.

"What do you mean?"

The blue haired Bot gave her a slight smile in return.

"Because you chose him, that's why. I doubt there are many men that could be that lucky."

The Asari smiled on the inside as she looked back to the ground.

_'Orion, your quite the smooth talker.'_  she thought.

"Thank you, he was too." the Asari replied with a smile which then soon faded as she continued.

"But he is gone now."

"Are you sure? I mean like Nightracer said..." Orion started to say, but only for Liara to cut him off.

"He is gone Orion, Galvatron killed him. So the Shockblast that I knew died that day, but I will always remember him. But I am not going to let his death dictate my life from here on in."

Orion looked at her with a confused expression.

"What do you mean?" he asked, curious to find out her meaning.

"You remember what I said about me being solitary and how the Reaper War changed that when I made friends with those I served with."

The Bot nodded as he listened intently.

"Well I also lost them to the Reapers, I mean who didn't. But unlike many who would let such losses cripple them, I decided that I would honor their memory by remembering the good in them while in turn, not allowing the grief of their loss control my life and it's direction." Liara added before looking Orion in the eye.

"And so I will do the same with Shockblast."

"Do you love him?" the Bot then asked.

"I thought I did but considering everything that happened, I guess I was wrong." the Asari replied as she looked away from Orion.

"I see." he said back, as he thought on everything she had just told him. The Bot had felt that there was a connection between the two of them since meeting the Asari back on Illium, but then hearing about Shockblast had made Orion feel guilty with how their new friendship was progressing. And though hearing Liara talk like this had helped, the Bot started to feel that he should give her some space, so he began to move back to the door when the Asari looked over to him.

"Your going,? I thought we could talk more." she asked with a look of surprise.

"I would like that." he said back, gaining a smile from Liara.

"As would I." she replied as she sat down on the couch, so Orion turned away from the door and was about to sit with her when suddenly the intercom activated.

"Orion Darby, I need you in the Comms room now." Rodimus's voice spoke, earning a sigh from the Bot.

"I have to go and see what he wants." Orion said while looking down at Liara before he then turned around and headed for the door, but she simply gave him a slight smile in return as he got to the door and looked back.

"I know, can I see you after?" she asked with a slither of hope in her voice, earning a smile from the Bot as he opened the door.

"Definitely." he said before walking out of the room, feeling much better as he thought to himself.

_'Yeah, the connection is still there.'_

A minute or so later and Orion entered the Comms room to find the Commander standing next to the holo-emitter and typing on control terminal.

"What's wrong Rodimus?" the bot asked as he stood beside the Commander who looked up at him with a worried expression.

"I was just about to transmit the information that Dr T'Soni had given us to Jackson Prime, when I found that our connection to the comms network is down. We can't contact any Autobot Ship, Outpost or Colony in the Galaxy."

Orion's eyes widened at that comment as the repercussions of this dawned on both Men.

Meanwhile on board the Icarus, one of the Terracons activated the comms terminal and the face of Galvatron appeared on the screen.

"Lord Galvatron, all ships are in position and Commander Rip-Claw reports that Shockblast's program has disabled all parts of the Autobot Communication Network. No one on their side will be able to notice that anything is wrong until it is too late, and so we have the all clear to proceed."

An evil smile grew on the Predacon Leader's face as he listened to the minion.

"Excellent, then lets get on with it."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

It had been a bright sunny day, with barely a cloud in the sky over the ISF capital of New Iacon as the celebrations that began first thing in the morning had yet to let up. And now as a blue sky had given way to that of dusk with the sun descending to the horizon. The entire city was still buzzing with a happy and excited atmosphere as everyone was enjoying the countless firework displays and other festivities that had been organised, not only in New Iacon but all over the Earth and the rest of the Federation.

In Iacon's city centre, which on a normal day was a busy hub of commerce for the whole ISF had become even more busy now due to the celebrations as Arcee, Chromia and Ironhide walked down the main street and looked at the numerous food stands and stalls that were on site for the festivities. The three of them came across a stall that had several funny mirrors of which had kids laughing at their altered images as they stood in front of them, Arcee walked over to one of the normal ones and looked at the image of herself which was reflected back at her.

She was wearing a light blue dress that hung off her still athletic figure, her blue hair which now had a small amount of silver mixed in had been cut into a smart pixie cut style. For a Femme who was now approaching her sixties, Arcee still had the look of a Woman in her late forties….which was damn good for someone of her age. If anything that the eons of fighting had taught her, it was how to take care of her body.

But as she stood there with everyone else around her caught up in the happy and fun atmosphere of the Anniversary celebrations, she felt somewhat apart from it. Meanwhile Chromia was nearly choking on her drink as she laughed at Ironhide who was posing in front of one of the funny mirrors, which showed him with a massive pear shaped gut which was in the complete opposite of his bulked up frame. But then the younger Femme noticed her Sister just staring blankly at herself in the other mirror and walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder which brought the blue haired older Woman out of her thoughts.

"Sis, what's wrong? You've been quiet nearly all day."

Arcee sighed as she looked back to her younger sister and gave her a half-hearted smile.

"I'm alright, I just thought Jack would have been here by now."

"I guess he has been held back by work again?" Chromia replied.

"Looks that way, we don't get to see each other as much as we like anymore." the older Femme said as Ironhide joined them.

"Everything alright?" he asked as Chromia turned to him and smiled.

"Yeah honey, could you do me a favor and get us both one of those sea salt ice creams from the vendor over there?" she asked while pointing over to the ice-cream seller across the way from them. The Bot shook his head gently before giving his spark-mate a loving smile.

"You and your sweet tooth, okay I'll be back in a moment love." he replied before heading over to join the queue leading to the vendor. Chromia then took this moment for Arcee and herself to sit down at one of the tables that were outside one of the many coffee shops that could be found in the city.

"How are things between you and Jack? No troubles other than the obvious?" she asked.

"Other than the fact that we hardly see each other...no, everything else has been great between us. We still love each other as much as we did over two decades ago, there is no problem there. Its just I thought that as we are now getting older and Orion is doing his own things, that we would get more time for each other..." Arcee replied while looking ahead and seeing another couple walking down the street hand in hand, admiring the attractions.

"...But it seems Jack's work wont give us that time." she added.

"Still no sign of someone new to take over the Matrix, sure is taking it's time huh." Chromia replied, but the older Sister did not respond to this, instead just looking away and thinking some more. Because if what Jack had told Arcee several years ago was true, there was someone who could bear that mantle. But that person was still not ready apparently, though she could not blame that person if it was true, because to be a Prime was a huge responsibility.

"Well I am glad that there are no other problems between you and Jack, so how is Orion doing?" Chromia asked, snapping Arcee out of her thoughts again.

"Orion? Last I heard from him, he had been doing well with his work as a Spectre."

"Orion...a Spectre, wow. You and Jack must be proud of him." the younger Femme replied.

"Yes I certainly am, but Jack though..." Arcee began to say before looking away, earning a surprised expression from Chromia.

"Don't tell me the pair of them are still not talking, how many years has it been?"

"It's been several years Chromia, and it is complicated." the blue haired Woman replied.

"Well if something like this happened between Ironhide and Quickstrike, then I would just lock both of them in a room and not let either out until they buried the hatchet." her Sister replied, gaining a knowing look from Arcee.

"It's not that simple Chromia, the most important men in my life are both very stubborn when it comes to this."

This earned a slight smile from Chromia.

"Well Orion gets that stubbornness from you Sis, but when did Jack become that way. I always thought it would be Jack playing intermediate between you and Orion. I remember you telling me about the time Optimus lost his memories and thought he was Decepticon, the rest of you had become argumentative and disgruntled with the loss of the Prime. But Jack kept a cool head and stopped the rest of you from losing yourselves completely."

As she remembered that time, a smile grew on Arcee's face.

"I remember." she replied, earning a supportive smile from Chromia.

"Everything does work out in the end Arcee, believe me." she said back, gaining a nod from her older Sister. Then as both Femmes began to relax and look around as the festivities continued, Ironhide returned with a pair of ice creams.

"Now that is what I am talking about." the big Bot said as he saw Arcee smiling.

"Thought I would never see you smile today Cee. And yours is one that should always be around." he said while passing a ice creams to the pair, earning a scowl from Chromia.

"And what about mine?" she asked while trying to sound hurt, thus making the Bot feel guilty.

"Yours is beautiful love, I am just saying that Arcee shouldn't hide hers...that's all." Ironhide replied.

"Don't 'that's all' me." the younger Femme said back as she hit him on the arm, earning a chuckle from Arcee which gained both their attention.

"What?" they asked in unison.

"Nothing...it's just you two are 'cute' when you argue." the older Femme replied while still slightly chuckling. The couple then looked back at each other and smiled as Chromia placed her hand affectionately in Ironhide's on the table.

"Well, Ironhide is really a big softy at spark." The younger Sister said affectionately, making the big Bot spit out the drink he was just taking a sip of.

"Don't say that out loud..." he said before wiping his mouth.

"...I have a rep to maintain." he finished as both Femmes burst out laughing. Then as things calmed down, the three of them just enjoyed the cool evening breeze that was passing through the streets of the Capital as celebrations continued around them. Suddenly Arcee's holo-tool activated and the Femme opened up a message on it's interface and read it, with a big smile appearing on her face as she did.

"Looks like someone got some good news." Ironhide observed, earning a smile from Chromia as she smiled back.

"Jack has finished and is on his way." the older Sister replied as she sent back a reply.

"So how long till he is here?" the big Bot replied.

"Should be about fifteen minutes, so how is everything with Quickstrike?" Arcee asked as they sat there, enjoying the ice cream and drinks.

Meanwhile on the edge of the system, the Autobot cruiser 'Ultra Magnus' was on patrol around the space bridge which suddenly activated as a giant green vortex expanded in all directions from the device. On the Magnus's bridge, the Salarian Commander looked on as his crew worked around him at their respective stations.

"Unscheduled space bridge activation." one of crew spoke as the Commander kept his attention on the screen.

"Contact Jackson Prime and inform him of what..." he started to say before a star-ship flew out of the vortex and into the system, gaining the attention of the Commander and his crew. The star-ship looked like it had been in one hell of a fight, as the hull was covered in hull breaches and burns while smoke billowed out of the most heavily damaged sections. The damage was that heavy that the ship's name could not be identified, as the Ultra Magnus came up alongside the moving wreck.

"This is Commander Malarus of the Autobot cruiser 'Ultra Magnus', can we give you assistance?" the Salarian said, but the only response was static over the comms.

"Could their communications be out too?" he then asked the Turian to his left.

"It is possible sir, but the sensors are having a hard time with all the radiation that is being emitted from the ship's leaking reactor. The only thing I can pick up is the Autobot IFF." he replied before noticing something on the holo-screen in front of him.

"Sir, I am detecting a power build up from their Hyper-drive."

The Commander gave him a confused look as he looked between the Turian and the viewscreen.

"How is that possi..."

But before the Salarian could finish his words, the heavily damaged ship suddenly jumped to hyper-speed, leaving them alone on the edge of the system again. The bridge crew all looked completely dumbstruck before Malarus looked over to his comm officer.

"Have you managed to get through to Jackson Prime?"

"No sir..." the Human Female replied while inputting commands into the holo-interface of her station.

"...I have tried three times, but all I am getting is static..." she said before her eyes went wide in shock at what she saw."

"What is it Ensign?" the Commander replied after seeing her expression.

"Sir...if I am reading this right, the entire Communication network is offline. We can not contact any vessel unless we use our short range ship to ship transmitter." she said back, earning a worried look from the Commander who then turned his attention to the Asari piloting the cruiser.

"Get us to Earth now!"

Meanwhile Jackson Prime and his team mates were sent flying off their seats and onto the floor of the shuttle they were in, as the pilot was made to veer the small vessel to the right suddenly.

"What the hell was that?" Smokescreen asked as the Bot picked himself up from the floor and held on to the hand holds over head, while noticing Grunt and Garrus both doing the same.

"Sorry Smoke, I was too busy getting up close and personal with a bulkhead. So I can't answer that question." Garrus replied as he put a hand to the large bruise that was on his face right now.

"I hate shuttles, did everyone know that." the Krogan replied coldly as Jack was already at the pilot's side.

"Ensign report." he said as the young Man at the helm of the shuttle kept his attention on his flying.

"Sorry sir, but I didn't get a chance to warn you. Since this cruiser just jumped in directly behind us at high speed. I had to take evasive manoeuvres to ensure we didn't get crushed."

"No, that was good flying Ensign. But where did it come from?" Jack asked while looking out of the cockpit's canopu at the large ship that was directly between Earth and themselves.

"No idea sir, as far as I remember no ship is allowed to use their Hyper-drive while inside the Sol system, and certainly not this close to Earth." The Pilot said as they both watched it getting closer to the blue planet.

"Hail them." the Prime replied.

"I have been trying Sir, with no success."

"Well it looks like the ship is out of control, any idea where on the planet it will crash land?" Jack asked as Garrus and the others got up behind him and listened to the pair.

"According to it's trajectory and velocity, it will impact….oh my god!" the Pilot said with a wide eyed expression as the Prime looked down at the holo-screen and saw the coordinates on the planet, his expression matching the pilot's as Garrus looked at the screen from over his friend's shoulder.

"New Iacon…what about all the people down there?" he said while both Grunt and Smokescreen looked on in shock and worry as the damaged cruiser began to pull away from them. Jack immediately tapped his com-link.

"This is Jackson Prime to anyone in the Decagon, come in please….anyone?" he said in a panicked tone, but the only reply he received was static. The Pilot then tried his own comms terminal, but had the same response.

"Looks like the Autobot communication network is down." he replied, making the Prime look at him in an even more surprised expression.

"Impossible, the system was designed by Raf and Blaster with multiple fail-safes to ensure it never goes down. Switch to standard comms and get me Decagon control." he said, making the Pilot work extremely fast as he typed on the holo-controls in front of him.

"There you go sir, I have them." he replied before another voice could be heard on the speaker.

"Decagon control here."

"This is Jackson Prime, you have to begin evacuating the city immediately because there is an out of control ship on a collision course with the Capital." the Prime said in a commanding and alert tone, as the voice's tone on the speaker became more panicked.

"Yes sir, beginning evacuation procedures right away. How long do we have?" the Decagon control asked in a hurried way, making Jack and the Pilot look out of the shuttle's canopy at the ship which just began to enter Earth's atmosphere as it's very front started to heat up to white hot temperatures.

"A few minutes at best." the Prime replied grimly.

"Very well, Control out." the voice said before cutting out, which made Jack turn his attention to the Pilot once more.

"Get us down there as fast as you can."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Acree was finally starting to enjoy herself now as she sat with her Sister and her Sister's Spark-mate and watched as a parade was being marched down the street connected to the one they were currently residing. It had large balloon like animals which were roughly the same size as their old Cybertronian bodies used to be, with each one connected to a float that had performers standing on them in funny looking costumes. But even if the Femmes and Bot found this a little funny to watch, the families who there in the crowds around the parade, especially the children were loving it as they waved and cheered back to the costumed performers. But suddenly a deafening sound of an evacuation siren blared out around the city as shuttles began flying in and landing amongst the crows and multiple ground-bridge vortexs opened all over the city.

"What in the Allspark is going on?" Ironhide asked as he and the Sisters got up and watched as everyone around them began panicking, while Autobots stepped off the shuttles and began herding the frightened civilians into them and through the ground-bridges at a hurried pace.

But suddenly a sonic boom echoed throughout the sky like thunder during a storm, which gained the attention of all who were present. They looked up to see a dark looking object in the sky which was descending toward their location at a frightening speed, and for several seconds nobody moved as they simply watched in shock and fear as the object was getting closer. Ironhide started to move first, taking the hands of both Chromia and Arcee in his own.

"Lets go, have to get you to one the ground-bridges." he said as the femmes nodded as they began to move in the opposite direction to where everyone was looking, trying to push their way through the crowds.

"What you standing around for...move!" Arcee shouted at the rest, who simply stood still and stared up at the object.

' _Why don't they move? Why do they just watch?_ ' she thought as a few began to think like the Bot and Femmes, heading for the shuttles and vortexes as the Autobots there continued to move the civilians closest into them. Ironhide looked ahead to see that the closest vortex or shuttle was right down the street from their location, so he glanced back to see the large and heavily damaged cruiser very clearly in the sky as it plummeted towards them. In fact it was so close now that you could hear it's engines roaring as it closed in. And it was now that more and more civilians began to move away while some still watched, like deer caught in a car's headlights.

From where they were, the ship suddenly disappeared behind the many tall buildings and skyscrapers. But suddenly what felt like an earthquake shook the very foundations that Iacon was built on as the cruiser hit the ground and crashed into the first buildings before it, demolishing them in an instant while crushing anyone who were still in it's way. The cruiser though did not stop as it's momentum carried it on into the city as the shuttles began to take off with as many people as they could carry, but only a few managed to escape as others were destroyed by the cruiser as it ran into them.

The three Cybertronians ran as fast as they could, while hearing the destruction behind them getting closer and closer. But despite this disaster happening around them, the former Autobots kept themselves from falling into the abyss of panic and fear as they focused on one thing, the bright green vortex just ahead of them. But then the cruiser burst through the wall of buildings behind them and closed in on the trio and the others running around them, this made Ironhide look back as he felt the ship's shadow being cast on them and notice another alleyway on his left.

"This way!" he shouted as the group turned left and ran down the alleyway just in time to miss the cruiser which carried on past and continued to mow everyone else down. But the alleyway became unstable as the cruiser had clipped the tops of the skyscrapers currently around the trio, which rained down rubble on them as they ran down the narrow street. The sound of the cruiser's continuing crash landing sounded some ways away as it had cut a path of of destruction right across the busy Capital's centre, but it was replaced by the sounds of cracking and supports breaking and the big Bot realised that the buildings around the three of them were about to collapse. But he saw what looked like a reinforced archway just outside of the small street around them and pointed at it as they ran.

"Head for that archway!" ironhide said in a hurried tone, which made both Femmes nod back as they ran just ahead of him, who then saw that the buildings were going to give way at any moment.

Both Femmes ran out of the alleyway with Ironide right behind them and made their way towards the archway, which was part of the public transport network that ran through the city. But suddenly the Skyscrapers began to fall and a hundred thousand tones of concrete and steel descended upon on the trio, its shadow enveloping them as they ran.

"No!" Ironhide shouted as he flung himself at the Femmes and pushed them into the cover of the archway, surprising them as they fell into it's cover. Chromia immediately turned round to see her Spark-mate on his hands and knees while falling pieces of rubble came down around him as time suddenly seemed to slow down, as the Spark mates then looked into each others eyes. Chromia stared with wide eyed fear for her Ironhide, while he looked back with an expression of both acceptance and love.

"I love you." he managed to say before the entire mass of the skyscraper came down on him, the force of it sending both Sisters onto their backs as the rubble blocked off that side of the archway and the air became thick with dust. Both Femmes then coughed as they climbed back to their feet, Chromia had tears flowing freely down her face as the Femme stared at the last place she saw her Spark-mate.

"IRONHIDE!" she screamed before rushing back over to the rubble, starting to move what pieces of concrete and steel that she could.

"I'll get you out of there baby!" she said in a determined if mistaken tone while Arcee, who was still in shock of what had just happened simply stared back at that spot. A long moment had passed while Chromia continued to try and dig out her fallen lover, but her older Sister finally came to her senses and moved over to her Sibling and grabbed her arms to stop her. But Chromia didn't react to her and just kept digging.

"He's gone Chromia, I am sorry. I am so sorry, but you have to let him go." the older Femme said as she fought back the tears which made her sister suddenly stop and openly let her sorrow out, with the tears flowing freely down her face as she broke down right there. Arcee then pulled her into a hug and held onto her little Sister tightly while Chromia started shaking as she cried, until she let out a harrowing scream of anguish that if not for the confined space that the Siblings were in, would probably have been heard by the rest of the city. The younger Femme then rested her head on her Sister's shoulder as the tears kept coming, while Arcee just let her continue to sob.

"I am so sorry Chromia." the Femme repeated her self before hearing a crack-like sound coming from above and noticing a spec of dust appearing from a large fissure in the archway's ceiling. The older Femme than pulled away enough to look Chromia in the eyes, who was now sobbing quietly.

"Chromia, we can't stay here. The archway is becoming unstable due to the amount of rubble that is now on it, so we have to dig our way out. Ironhide didn't want you to die here, that's why he did what he did."

The Femme then looked around them to see that both sides of the archway were blocked off by the rubble and debris of the skyscraper, but light could be seen through the gaps in the blockage directly behind the Sisters. But Chromia just stayed on her knees and looked at the ground, so her older Sister took things into her own hands and went over to the other blocked entrance and started to dig her way out.

But as Arcee was clearing debris, suddenly another pair of hands joined in and the Femme looked to her right to see that Chromia had begun to dig too. The younger Femme was quiet for several minutes as the pair cleared off the rest of the debris and made an exit for them, the light almost blinding them as it shone into the archway. But once their eyes had adjusted to the bright light, what they saw was just as horrifying as it had been earlier, but the image before them was almost like Déjà vu. As the city around them looked like what they had seen during both the Reaper War and the War for Cybertron, with all the damage that the ship had caused. But despite this, the Femmes could see there were survivors who were either slowly making their way out of danger zone, or helping to clear rubble and help more people like themselves.

"You were right, so let's go and help who we can out there. That's what Ironhide would do." Chromia then said, bringing a surprised expression to Arcee's face which quickly became serious.

"Look Chromia…" she began to say, but her Sister cut her off.

"Arcee, lets go." the Femme replied as she wiped a tear from her cheeks, still wet from the tears that she had shed as she walked out of the archway, her older sister following as both Femmes ventured out into the city just as emergency shuttles and transports began entering ground zero.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Jack looked in wide eyed disbelief at the destruction that one cruiser had brought to New Iacon, his shuttle was now out of the clouds with a clear view of the entire city as well as the path that had been cut through it. The others all looked with similar expressions at the horrifying image, Smokescreen even blinked his eyes in the hope that when he had, that the whole thing had been an illusion.

"By Primus, just think about the people down there. What about Arcee? Isn't she down there waiting for you Jack?" the Bot asked as the Prime looked at where the fallen cruiser had come to a stop, and saw that it was half buried inside the Decagon which was located at the other side of the city's centre.

"This wasn't an accident." Jack suddenly said as he narrowed his eyes at the horrifying image in front of him, gaining confused looks from his friends.

"Why is that Jack?" Grunt asked.

"It certainly looks that way." Smokescreen added, but Jack shook his head in response.

"So it's just a coincidence that the ship comes crashing down over the city during one of the biggest events of the ISF and ends up destroying half of the Decagon when it comes to a stop, the half that holds the offices of the majority of the senators."

Garrus nodded in return as the others listened intently at their Leader's reason.

"Your right Jack, that's way beyond coincidence."

"Garrus, get us all the weapons out of the mobile armory in the back." the Prime then said, earning a nod from the Turian who then went over to the large metal cabinet and started picking out the fire-arms. Jack then turned back to the Pilot as the others walked over to Garrus.

"Take us down to the Decagon, we need to secure the area and ensure the senators safety. Also give me control of your comms terminal and set it to standard mode."

The Pilot did so and Jack activated a com-channel.

"To all Autobots in range of this transmission, this is Jackson Prime and I am declaring an Alert level 1. New Iacon is under attack, I repeat New Iacon is under attack. I do not know who is attacking us, but I want us to make sure that whoever they are will wish they hadn't. Our priorities are defending the civilians until they are out of harms way, and then bringing the hurt to the enemy. Good luck, Prime Out.".

The Autobot leader then turned round and Garrus gave him an Avenger assault rifle and pistol.

"Here you go Jack." the Turian said before his face became pensive.

"So do you think Arcee is okay down there? I mean that is a lot of damage."

"I hope she is, I really do. But unfortunately that is all I can do, because my first priority is everyone else." Jack replied before checking the rifle.

"I don't envy you Jack, if our roles were reversed and Tali was down there, I don't think I could be so selfless." Garrus replied as Smokescreen and Grunt joined them.

"That's the reason why Jack is a Prime." The younger Bot added, earning a nod from them all.

"Prime, the emergency shuttles and transports are here." the Pilot called back, gaining their attention as the group turned back to the cockpit and saw the vessels flying around the ruined capital.

"Now that was fast." Garrus said with an unconvinced tone in his voice.

"Yeah, this doesn't smell right." Grunt replied, before suddenly the vessels began opening fire on the survivors who had come out into the open to be rescued and killing them instantly in a barrage of bullets. Everyone on the shuttle stared in wide eyed shock as this continued before Jack's eyes narrowed and he clenched his fist.

"Get us down there now!"

Meanwhile Arcee and Chromia had taken cover behind damaged sky-car as the emergency vessels carried on the slaughter around them.

"What in the Allspark!" Arcee said as they witnessed men, women and children being riddled with bullets by the cannons of the shuttles and transports as they flew overhead.

"This wasn't an accident." Chromia then said as her voice was tinged with a building anger. The Femmes then noticed that a few of the shuttles were making a real effort to clear up a particular area just aways from them, it was a wide open space that had been created when the cruiser had swept through, destroying all the buildings that had stood there. Suddenly a giant Space-bridge vortex opened up and scores upon scores of soldiers wearing black and purple armour exited it, followed by some wearing armour with a different color scheme. Though one really stood out amongst them, as he wore silver, black and purple armour. And with the way the others were acting towards him, Arcee and Chromia guessed that he was the Leader as they stayed quiet and tried to listen to the new arrivals.

Galvatron stood amongst his soldiers and marveled at the ruins around them that the 'Icarus' had caused to the city, a slight smile grew on the Predacon leader's face before he turned his attention to Lazerback who stood beside him.

"Lazerback, report."

"Our beachhead is secured and Shockblast reports that the last legion of Terracons are coming through now." the Con replied as they turned to see the remaining soldiers exit the vortex before it closed.

"Very good." Galvatron replied before activating his com-link so all his troops on the ground or in the air could hear him.

"My brothers, this is a glorious day. For it will be remembered as the day the Predacons returned to the galaxy and drowned the Autobots in their own blood."

All the Terracons and his Lieutenants beside him cheered before the Predacon leader threw his fist into the air.

"My Predacons, it is time to rise up and Terrorise!" he shouted before the Predacon army roared with approval and began spreading out in all directions and killing any and civilians in their path.

 


	11. Chapter 11

As the shuttle flew low toward the half demolished Decagon, which had the unknown cruiser buried in it's side. The Pilot suddenly put his hand to his com-link and listened as he kept his other on the flight controls.

"Prime sir, I think you should hear this." he then said, gaining Jack's attention as the Prime moved to the Ensign's side. The pilot then pressed a button on his holo-controls and a familar voice could then be heard through the vessel's inter-com.

"This is Arcee to any Autobots in range of this signal..."

' _Arcee..._ ' Jack thought as he felt relief in his heart at hearing his sparkmate's voice, with the fact that she was still alive down there.

"...the emergency shuttles are hostile and are firing on any civilians they can see, there are also hundreds of unidentified enemy soldiers on the ground. They came through a Space-bridge vortex and have created a beach-head for themselves. Chromia and myself are currently staying out of sight until we can regroup with another group of Autobots..." then the message cut out and static was all that could be heard, as the Prime looked back down to the pilot.

"Can you pinpoint the location of that transmission?" he asked, while the others stood behind him with their weapons ready.

"Yes sir, coordinates already locked in." the Pilot replied, earning a slight smile from the Prime.

"Good, get us there as fast as you can." Jack said back before looking back at Garrus, Smokescreen and Grunt.

"Change of plan, we are going to head to the enemy beach-head and take these bastards head on."

"About time, my trigger finger needs the exercise." Grunt chuckled as Smokescreen gave him a worried look, but Garrus ignored them and looked directly at Jack.

"You alright Jack? Must be good to hear her voice just then?"

The Prime flashed a slight grin at his Turian friend.

"Yeah I am okay and it is good..." he said before his face became serious.

"...But we have bigger problems to deal with."

Garrus nodded in return, his own face now mirroring the Prime's.

"Yes, we do."

"We are coming up on...by the Allspark!" the Pilot then said, gaining everyone's attention.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"We have a cruiser descending behind us and it is powering weapons."

"Perhaps its one of ours?" Smokescreen said rather hopefully, but suddenly the Pilot performed a barrel role that narrowly missed a burst of cannon fire from the other ship.

"I doubt it Smoke, friendlies don't make it a habit of firing on each other." Garrus replied with hanging on to the hand hold above, just like everyone else at this moment as the pilot performed another evasive maneruve as more cannon fire flew past them and hit the ground below.

"I can't dodge this guy forever." the Pilot stressed as he kept his hands firmly on the holo-controls, ignoring the sweat that was running down his face from his brow.

"Take us up to jumping altitude." Jack then said as h walked past his friends to another cabinet, opening it as his friends stared back with shocked expressions.

"Jumping altitude! You sure about this?" Smokescreen asked as Garrus stood beside him.

"Yeah Jack, I'm with Smoke on this one. I mean if Turians were meant to fly, then we would have been granted wings long before now."

Even Grunt looked uneasy at the Prime's idea.

"What about Krogan..."

"Guys shut up and suit up." Jack said, ignoring his friends pleas as he tossed them each a gravity pack. Each of them looked down at the pack in their hands, their faces looking more worried with each passing second.

"We will be in position in thirty seconds, though I doubt that I can hold off that ship behind us for that long." the Pilot called back as the weapons fire continued to fly past his canopy from the enemy cruiser that was closing behind them, dwarfing their shuttle with it's far larger size.

"Okay, we are ready." Jack said as he and his team all equipped the gravity packs onto the backs of their individual armours, though the Prime noticed that Garrus and Grunt did not look happy about it. But before he could say anything about it, the shuttle suddenly rocked violently as if it had collided with something which sent it's occupants onto the floor.

"We've been hit." the Pilot shouted as he typed frantically at the holo-controls in front of him, but it was getting harder to keep the shuttle steady.

"I've lost the starboard thrusters, I won't be able to get us to jumping altitude now. We are about eighty feet short of it." he added, while Jack pulled himself to the cockpit entrance.

"We will jump now then, open the hatch." he said, instantly earning shocked looks from his friends.

"It was a bad idea at..." Garrus started to say as alarms began blaring around them, before the shuttle's hatch opened beside him.

"They have a target lock!" the Pilot shouted over the howl of the wind that filled the shuttle alongside the alarm.

"Jump!" the Prime shouted as he pushed the Turian through the hatch and out of the shuttle, both Smokescreen and Grunt stared open-mouthed at the Leader.

"Go!" he commanded with a stern expression and both Bot and the Krogan looked at each other, before they sighed and leapt out of the hatch. This left Jack and the Pilot as the last on board the doomed shuttle, with the Prime reading himself next to the hatch before looking back to the Pilot who was still frantically working the controls.

"You coming?"

"I will be right behind you sir." the Pilot replied, so the Autobot Leader nodded and then threw himself out of the shuttle. But only a second or so after doing so, the shuttle was hit by a missile and it exploded in mid-air as Jack and his friends plummeted to the ground below.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

As the gunfire and roars from the enemy echoed around them, Arcee got on to her knees and took a peek from behind her and her sisters cover to examine their situation. What she saw was enough to make her spark heavy with sadness as the femme witnessed yet more innocents being slaughtered by the soldiers of this unknown enemy, who appeared to take great amounts of pleasure from ending their lives in the most horrific and violent ways possible. In fact it would seem that these soldiers were more like animals. Arcee kept herself low enough that the enemies could not see her, but not so that it would block her sight. She thought for a moment, as she remembered the name she had heard the one that was obviously the leader call his men.

' _Predacons...where have I heard that name before?_ ' She thought before looking down at her Sister, who had remained quiet for nearly the entire time since these 'Predacons' had begun their attack.

"Chromia?" the older Femme asked while placing a hand on her shoulder, but Chromia would not answer and yet Arcee could already tell how she was feeling. For when she held onto her sister's shoulder, it felt tense and cold. This was a Femme who had just seen her Spark-mate give up his life to save hers, and now that the disaster that had befallen the city now appears to have been staged and by these Predacons no doubt. Chromia now looked like she had during the Great War, as a Femme out for blood.

Arcee looked back to the enemy and saw that they had moved on, and that the Sisters were now alone.

"Alright, we should head in this direction since this it would be the most logical way to meet up with Autobot forces."

Chromia finally looked at her sister and gave her a cold stare.

"You can head that way if you want Arcee, but I am going after those Predacons."

The older Sibling placed her hands on Chromia's shoulders, as a sign that she wasn't going anywhere. But the youngrt Femme just looked unfazed at Arcee.

"Your not going to stop me, they have to pay for what they did to Ironhide. And I will ensure that they pay for it with their lives."

"And how are you going to accomplish that when you have no weapons?" Arcee asked in a doubtful tone, but Chromia simply looked over the cover and spotted three Predacon soldiers standing just a ways from them.

"There, those three. We just kill them and gain their weapons, easy pickings."

Arcee looked at the three enemies, noting their posture and movement.

"They look like stragglers."

"Exactly...now you can help me, or get the pit out of my way." the younger Sister said, earning an anxious expression from her older Sister.

"Alright...I'm with you." Arcee replied, if only so that she could try to keep Chromia from making a mistake. A mistake that she would never make with a clear mind, one that could end her life. And that was something that Arcee would not see go through again, not like she had to with their older sister...Elita One.

So both Femmes moved slowly and stealthily from their cover, heading towards the three Predacons who were completely oblivious of what they were about to face.

The two Sisters kept to the shadows of the ruins as best they could, slowly but surely gaining ground on the three enemies ahead who continued to move around the area. Suddenly the sound of movement caught the attention of one of the Predacons who pointed their rifle over to what looked like a broken and dislodged piece of wall, moving around it until he came across a severally injured Salarian who was crawling on all fours while shaking, obviously still severally shaken by what had just happened. He looked up at the soldier, his brow was soaked in blood from a cut on his temple.

"Please...help me?" he said in whimpering and fearful tone.

"Hey guys, we have another one." the soldier said to his comrades, who looked over to him.

"Well, take care of it then." one of them said to him, so the soldier raised his rifle and aimed it at the Salarian's face. The injured man's eyes widened as it dawned on him what was about to happen.

"Wait...wait plea..." he began to stammer before being silenced by the sound of a gunshot, his body then collapsing onto the ground with a bullet hole in between his eyes. The soldiers then laughed in response, clearing enjoying themselves.

"You see that guys, that was the easiest kill I have had today." the soldier said with a beaming smile as the others nodded and smiled back.

Meanwhile as the two Femmes watched from behind some more broken large concrete slabs, Chromia felt the last of her restraint burn away due to her growing rage while the third soldier spoke up.

"Yeah, but isn't this all a but to easy? I mean I would prefer a real fight rather than all this executing."

Suddenly before Arcee could do anything about it, her younger sister vaulted over their cover and charged at the three Predacons.

"You want a 'real' fight? Well you've got one!" she shouted as the enemies turned around in shock that someone was calling them out, only for one of them to see nothing but the Femme's fist a split second before it connected with his face and sent him to the ground as the others fumbled with their weapons. The raging Autobot then kicked the second soldier in the groin with a hell of a lot of force, making him grimace while also looking confused as to why that hurt. But he never received an answer, instead a roundhouse kick to the face was all he got as he fell to the ground with one hand covering his face and the other covering his nether region. Chromia who was standing over the two beaten Predacons then turned to face the third enemy, but he already had his gun pointed at her.

"Nice try Femme, but it's lights out for you now." he said as he began to pull the trigger.

"...more like lights out for 'you'!"

The Predacon looked to his right, but all he saw was a quick flash of orange and feel a sudden searing pain along the width of his neck before his eyes came to a blue haired woman in a kneeling pose just next to him, with a holo-arm blade exposed and dripping with his blood.

"...how...?" was all he could say before his head separated from his neck and fell to the floor, the rest of his body joining it soon after.

"Thanks." Chromia said with a hint of gratitude as her older sister stood up straight and nodded back.

"Your welcome." she replied as her eyes looked down at the two defeated Predacons, one of which was beginning to recover.

"You might want to..." Arcee said, making Chromia look down in the direction that her sister was gesturing to.

"Oh right." the younger Femme replied before moving down onto the enemy and swiping her freshly activated holo-blade at the enemy's throat, opening it up and letting his blood flow freely as he brought his hands up to the wound and attempted to slow the bleeding. But it was gushing out too quickly for him and within a few moments of clinging to life as it drained from his body, he then was dead.

"Before you kill that one, we should question him first." Arcee then said, earning a nod from Chromia who then coldly walked over to the last Predacon and pressed the heel of her boot against his aching groin and still while his hand was covering it, making him grimace in pain.

"Why are you attacking us? What are you after?" she shouted at him as she increased the pressure, making the soldier cry out and yet still gave no hint of an answer to the Femme's questions. Arcee merely watched as her sister released his groin from under her heel and looked down at him.

"If he won't tell us anything, then he is of no further use." Chromia sighed before bending down and placing her hands around his neck, so she could strangle him.

"But I won't let him or any of his kind die easy or quickly, not for what they did to my Ironhide."

She then tightened her grip and the Predacon began gasping for air as he felt the furious Femme grip contracting his air-pipe, so he started to struggle against her in an attempt to break free, but Chromia would not let go as that cold and calculating expression returned to her face as she looked down at her dying enemy. Arcee could only watch as she saw her sister slowly taking another life today for the one that was closest to her spark, but she was worried that Chromia's thirst for revenge against the Predacons would never be sated, not even if she killed every single one of them.

The older Femme knew this because she was exactly the same after losing Cliffjumper to the brainwashed Airachnid, and the only reason she did not go down the same path when Jack died aboard the original Normandy was that she had no idea who was responsible nor did the Council and Alliance investigate it. So she had no choice but to focus on her job and mourn her Spark-mate, but as the older Femme watched her sister as she strangled the Predacon under her, Arcee hoped that she was wrong about that outcome.

But suddenly she was brought out of her thoughts when Chromia started to struggle against their supposedly beaten enemy, as he began to physically change before them. He grew more muscular and slightly larger, his teeth while became sharper and more defined as he bared them for the Femmes to see. The Predacon looked like a cross between a beast and a man as his eyes reformed to those of a reptile, and he then threw a surprised Chromia off himself and she landed hard on the ground just aways from her sister who was equally as shocked at how things had quickly changed as she looked at the now monstrous looking Predacon standing in front of her.

"Time to die!" he roared before charging at the older Femme and swiping at her with his now claw-like hands, and the Autobot jumped backwards to evade the strike but only just enough as the tips of the claws caught her clothing and ripped through its fabric. Arcee looked down at the five scratch-shaped tears in her dress.

_'That was too close.'_  she thought as the Predacon lunged at her again and once again, the Femme managed to barely keep out of reach of it's razor sharp claws. The Femme then saw her opening and immediately performed a punch and kick combo which had hit several direct hits on the enemy, but left him unfazed, leaving the Autobot feeling worried all of a sudden.

The soldier noticed this and smiled before attacking again with a combo of it's own, but despite her advancing years Arcee managed to dodge the attacks before diving under the last of the swipes and going into a roll and ending up in a kneeling position behind the enemy. The soldier looked back at her over his shoulder with a face of fury, as Arcee took on a defensive stance with her holo-armblades activated.

"I thought I was going to die?" she asked with a sarcastic tone as she noticed some movement behind the transformed enemy, her comment though only further infuriated the Predacon more as he roared again before charging at the Femme, when suddenly Chromia leapt on his back and kept stabbing him repeatedly with her holo-blade. The beastial soldier grimaced and cried out in pain as Arcee then joined in the attack by slashing at the enemy's chest and legs, but despite the cuts and the blood the enemy was losing as it seeped out from the wounds, managed to lunge out at the older Femme as the younger one continued to stab away at it's back.

But Arcee once again evaded the attack and then readied herself for another counter, but then the Predacon fell to one knee while the younger sister took this as a sign and pulled her holo-blade out of it's back and plunged it into the back of the supersized soldier's neck, who then fell onto both knees and panted as Chromia got off his back and joined her sister in front of him.

"Is that it?" the older Femme asked, earning a shrug from her sibling. But suddenly the Predacon got his second wind and lunged at them, hitting them both with a back-handed swipe that knocked the sters onto their backs.

"You will have to do better than that." he said sarcastically while the Autobots recovered and got to their feet.

"You take him high, I'll take low." Arcee said, earning a nod from Chromia before they both charged at the Predacon who mirrored their actions. The older Femme then lept up and slashed the his face with her holo-armblades as the younger sister kicked at his legs and swiped at his abdomen with her holo-blade, while also dodging and evading the monster's attacks at the same was really an impressive sight, seeing two Femmes of advancing years being able to fight one that was larger and far younger than them both.

After a few moments of fighting, Chromia ducked under one of enemy's punches and buried her holo-blade into his chest, earning hallowing cry of pain. Arcee kicked him in the back, pushing him more into her sister's blade which slid into his spark chamber and made him spasm for a moment, making the femmes retreat back a metre away before the Predacon suddenly fell to the ground dead. Arcee and Chromia breathed heavily for a moment and looked at the body as it continued to bleed out from all the wounds they had given it, but mainly from the killing blow in it's chest.

"That was tougher than I thought it would be." Arcee said while still breathing deeply.

"It can still die, that suits me just fine." Chromia replied coldly, earning a knowing look from her older sister.

"Still, if all the Predacons are that tough to beat. Then this could become a serious problem."

The younger femme then looked back at Arcee with a confused expression.

"What do you mean?"

"Well we have fought many Vehicons and Husks in the past and yet this Predacon was far tougher, especially when it changed. We need to contact the others so they are know what they are facing." Arcee said back before tapping her com-link.

"How right you are." a voice unknown to the Femmes spoke out behind them, gaining their attention as they quickly picked up the dead soldiers weapons and turned to see the Man in the silver armour standing above them on a mound of rubble as Predacon troops began surrounding them.

"You are the leader of these 'Predacons', aren't you?" Arcee said while pointing the rifle at him, as she remembered seeing him amongst the other enemy troops earlier. The Predacon Leader gave her a sly smile in return.

"How very observant of you. My name is Galvatron and I am the Predacon Leader."

Chromia then nudged her sister, gaining the older Femme's attention as more Predacons appeared around them.

"Doesn't he look somewhat familiar? I mean I know that face, but I just can't put a name to it."

Arcee then looked back at Galvatron in a similar manner, earning an aggravated expression from the Predacon Leader as he heard chuckling coming from just beside him and knew exactly who it was as the aggravated feelings within his spark increased.

"This will be priceless if I do say so myself, wait for it..." Megatron chuckled as he stood next to his clone with his arms crossed and looked at both femmes, knowing precisely what the older sibling was about to say.

"He does look..." Arcee started to say when Galvatron suddenly erupted with rage and jumped down to them, landing with at their feet with a loud clang. The two Femmes kept their weapons pointed at him as he stood up and towered over them, but were surprised at his outburst as his red eyes stared daggers into their own.

"Enough!" he shouted as he equipped his blade which slid out of an opening on his armoured forearm.

"You dare disrespect me when I clearly have you dead to rights." he spat while gesturing to the Terracons surrounding them. Chromia though narrowed her eyes at Galvatron as her face changed to that which would have turned the hearts of those who saw it cold and fearful.

"We disrespect you? Your attacking my home, killing the people and friends I know. And you personally gave the order that led to my Ironhide's death, for that...I WILL KILL YOU!" she spat as she fired at the Predacon leader with her weapon, only for him to deflect the shots with his blade easily. Arcee fired hers too but again Galvatron blocked the shots, while letting his personal shield absorb the odd bullet's kinetic energy. Both Femmes stopped and looked at him as Terracons prepared to fire at them, but suddenly the clone lifted his arm into the air and stopped them.

"No, I will deal with these Autobot wretches myself." Galvatron then raised his blade and moved towards both Sisters slowly, while they separated and begun to circle the Predacon leader until they were both on a different side to him. The troops simply watched as Arcee stood before their master, while Chromia stood behind him.

Galvatron felt a smile growing on his face as while looking at the blue haired Femme, he could still feel the hateful eyes of the younger one on his back. He clenched his fist more as the anticipation of the first attack began to excite his spark, but was this his feelings or just memories of Megatron's from his days as a gladiator coming to the forefront of his mind. But before he could dwell on that line of thinking anymore, the older Femme attacked with her holo-arm-blades which Galvatron deflected both attacks with his blade and pushed her away with a punch to the chest.

Then on hearing quickening footsteps behind him, brought his weapon round just in time to deflect the younger Femme who had lunged in with her holo-blade. But with his successful deflection of her attack, Galvatron had left Chromia open and took this chance by backhanding her face and then kicking her in the stomach, sending her to the ground. He smiled darkly as the Femmes recovered and picked themselves up.

"I hope that wasn't the best you could do?" he asked in a sarcastic and unimpressed tone. Arcee looked over to her sister for a second, hoping that they would be on the same page for their next effort. But Chromia ignored her and charged at Galvatron, who ducked under the Femme's holo-blade and caught her with an uppercut to the chin which sent her back to the ground as quickly has she had got up. Arcee then performed a jump kick at the Predacon Leader, who simply caught her outstretched leg while she was in mid-air and then threw her to the ground beside her sibling.

"Your going to have to do better than that." Galvatron retorted with a chuckle, which gained daggers from Arcee and Chromia who both realised that he was simply toying with them. So the Autobots got back to their feet and Arcee looked at her sister, who for the first time in this fight looked back to her.

"We have to work together if we are going to beat him...for Ironhide."

Chromia's eyes widened at the mention of his name and a slight smile appeared on her face.

"Alright Sis, lets do it." she said before they both turned their attention to Galvatron who was waiting for them to make a move, he was looking over to some of his ships in the distance that were firing on what could only have been more civilians amongst the ruins. So the siblings both lunged at the Predacon Leader while his eyes were averted, but he caught their arms and threw them back to the floor, his face still smiling as he did so.

The Femmes then got up and tried again and for the next minute or so, their fight played out with the Sisters attacking and Galvatron countering and beating them back, all the while his troops were just enjoying the show. It was obvious the two Autobots were no match for their Master, that he was simply playing along. But that all changed after the Femmes were felled for seventh time as Blight appeared amongst the Terracons with his holo-tool active.

"Lord Galvatron" he called out, earning the Predacon Leader's attention as he looked up at his lieutenant.

"Blight report." Galvatron replied as the Predacon looked at the data on the holo-tool's screen.

"My Lord, we have multiple Ground-bridge vortexes opening around the city, Autobot troops are being deployed as we speak and enemy ships approach from all directions."

The Predacon Leader smiled ever so slightly as he took in the information.

"Excellent, then our battle can now truly begin. Have our troops prepare themselves and make sure Six-shot has our fighters ready to engage the Aerialbot forces."

As Galvatron spoke to Blight, Arcee and Chromia lifted themselves off the ground for what felt like thousand time and wiped the dirt from their faces and looked at each other, they both knew the chances of them both defeating this Predacon were nonexistent, but they couldn't just roll over and surrender….not now or ever. Arcee had even injured herself while trying to overcome Galvatron and needed a moment or two to recover. And Chromia was right, because there was something about this Predacon that kept bugging the older sister. This Galvatron was familiar to them, not just in that name but also in his fighting style and the other ways that seemed too coincidental.

_'Could it be…'_  she thought but before she could dwell on the possible answer, the Predacon Leader turned to face them both. His red eyes glaring down on them with little to no contempt.

"Looks like we have to bring this little amusement to an end….beginning with her." he said as he clenched his fist and re-deployed his blade again while walking over to the older Femme.

"No…..." Chromia panted while breathing heavily as she watched their enemy stop and stand over her Sister, raising his blade overhead as he readied himself for the killing strike. She had just lost her Spark-mate and there was not a thing she could do to stop that, but it would be a cold day in the Pits of Kaon before she would allow her Sister to suffer the same fate.

"NO!" she shouted as the younger Femme put everything she had into getting up and lunging with her holo-blade between Arcee and Galvatron as he brought his blade down on the her, only just stopping the strike a mere few centimetres from the older Sister's face with a loud clang of metal announcing her success. Both Arcee and Galvatron stared at the younger Autobot, the former with a thankful relief while the latter with a annoyed disgust.

"Chromia.." the older Femme began to say before the Predacon Leader kicked her onto her back and disarmed the Chromia easily as he turned his attention to her.

"You seem eager to die first…" he spat as he grabbed the weakened Femme by the neck and lifted her off the ground, just as Arcee looked up at the two of them.

"….So be it!" Galvatron added as he equipped his blade and stabbed it into Chromia's stomach, the Femme gasped and grimaced in response.

"NOOOOO!" Arcee screamed in wide eyed terror as the Predacon leader pulled the blood covered blade out, and casually let go of her sister's body which dropped to the ground like a rag doll, the blue haired Femme tried to move closer to Chromia's body but was immediately stopped by Blight and two Terracons as Galvatron turned his attention to her.

"Ready to join her in the Allspark?" he asked while looking down at the Autobot, touching the tip of his blade on her throat as the Terracons held her in place. But suddenly Blight who had been looking at the Femme as his Master spoke placed his hand on Galvatron's shoulder.

"My Lord wait, I recognise this Autobot..." he said, earning the Predacon Leader's attention.

"...That is Arcee, I remember reading about her in the ISF database. She was one of the heroes of the Great War and the more recent Reaper War." he added as Galvatron thought on the name and searched his own or rather Megatron's memories.

"Arcee, yes I remember now. I am surprised that I didn't recognise her sooner." he said while looking at the Femme who was currently staring at the ground, her spark in pain and anguish for her fallen sister who's body lied just away from her.

"She is also the spark-mate of Jackson Prime." Blight added, earning a smile from Galvatron.

"Yes, that could be advantageous to our cause. For the Prime will not try anything if he knows we have his lover as a captive." the Predacon Leader replied as he lowered his blade.

"Very well, we will take Arcee with us." he added as the Terracons pulled the blue-haired femme onto her feet and began to move away from the dead Autobot that was lying motionless on the floor, as Arcee looked back with sadness in her eyes. She was overcome with feelings of remorse and guilt for her sister who was now one with Allspark, if only she had tried to do more against Galvatron. But as she looked back at Chromia's lifeless body, something came to her mind that gave her a very small comforting feeling before glancing up at the sky.

_'Ironhide, you take care of my Sister you hear. Don't make me hunt you down, and I promise….you will both be avenged.'_

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Fighting erupted in the streets of New Iacon as the Autobots engaged the Predacon ground forces while the Aerialbots took on the enemy ships in the skies above the city, and as this was happening there were still civilians trapped between the two sides and trying to survive and escape the ever growing violence. A group of people made up of a Human, a Salarian and Asari and two Turians were keeping low to the ground, almost on all fours as they traversed the battlefield. All the while bullets were flying over their heads as both sides continued to fire on each other from the safety of cover.

"Keep your heads down back there." the Salarian at the front of the group shouted back to the others.

"Pa'ak, what did you say? I can barely hear you through all this gunfire." an Asari behind him shouted back, while the Human woman beside her placed he hand on her waist which was soaked in blood.

"Belis, I need another bandage. This one is soaked through again." she said, earning the Asari's attention as she looked back.

"Zoe, hold on just for a moment or so longer. We are nearly to the cover over there," Belis answered back in a caring manner as she gestured to the damaged building just ahead of them.

"Could we get a move on please, I don't want either my wife or I to be stuck here any longer." The Male Turian shouted from the rear, earning a hit on the shoulder from the female next to him.

"Tonis! The Human female is injured remember, show some compassion."

Tonis looked at wife and sighed, due to the expression on her face which was both angry and ashamed.

"Sorry, I am only concerned for you Lilim." he said before the group began moving again slowly while Terracons and Autobots battled and fell around them.

"Just a few metres to go." Pa'ak said back when suddenly there was an explosion on the side where the Autobots were fighting, bringing an end of the gunfire as Predacon troops started to advance on their position and came upon the civilians.

"Well look what we have here." one of Terracons said as Belis immediately moved in front of Zoe in a protective gesture, Ba'ak fell backwards on to his butt and the two Turians held on to each other.

"Well, what are you waiting for...kill them." another trooper said before the enemy group aimed their weapons at the innocents, who looked back wide eyed in fear.

"I'm sorry." Ba'ak said back to the others when all of a sudden bullets ripped through several of the Terracons, spilling blood over the floor as they fell to the ground. The remaining two Predacon soldiers began firing wildly around them, since they did not know where the gunfire had come from. But it soon did not matter when with the space of five seconds they were both on the floor with bullet holes in their heads, while the civilians looked on in surprise as they wondered what just happened. For it looked for a moment that their lives were about to come to an end, but someone must have been smiling on them at this time for they were still alive.

"Who did...?" Belis asked when a voice called over to them.

"Are you guys alright?"

The civilians turned round to see Jackson Prime and his team standing just aways from them, a look of relief and joy appeared on their faces at this reveal.

"Thank the goddess, we're saved." Belis exclaimed as Zoe stood beside her, still holding onto the bloody bandage around her abdomen.

"Smokescreen, this girl needs medi-gel." Jack ordered his Autobot friend, who nodded in return before moving towards the injured woman.

"Sure thing Jack." he said as he picked out the medi-gel from his utility belt and treated her, Belis was watching with an appreciative smile on her face.

"Thank you."

"Your welcome." the Bot said with a smile before turning his attention to the injured Human.

"You will be begin to feel better in just a moment." the Autobot said as he sprayed the wound with the medi-gel which began to effect and heal it in almost an immediate fashion. Meanwhile the two Turians crowded around Grunt who looked somewhat uncomfortable.

"Thank you, thank you..." they said in a hysteric tone.

"Your...welcome..." he replied in a flat tone, but they just kept smiling at him.

"...Okay...go away." he then added before walking off and leaving them standing there completely gob-smacked, while Smokescreen put in the final touches to the new bandage on Zoe's healing injury and looked up at the couple with an embarrassed smile.

"Don't take offence from Grunt, he doesn't really have any people skills. But he really is glad your alright."

The Turians just smiled back somewhat awkwardly, before giving the Krogan one last look as he kept his attention on their immediate surroundings. Meanwhile Jackson Prime stood next to Garrus, who was scanning the horizon with his sniper rifle.

"How does it look Garrus?"

"I think 'Just like old times' explains things pretty clearly Jack." the Turian replied.

"Really? Its that bad." Jack said back in surprise before his friend gave him the rifle.

"Take a look for yourself."

The Prime then looked trough the scope as it magnified the view in the distance and showed him hundreds of enemy soldiers, earning a sigh from him.

"I see what you mean." he replied as Ba'ak walked up to the pair, gaining their attention as the Prime handed the Turian Sharpshooter his weapon back.

"Jackson Prime? My name is Ba'-ak and I would like to thank you for saving our group, I thought we were done for." he said in a very appreciative tone, earning an equally knowing look from the Prime.

"Your welcome, but I am afraid that the danger is still not over. And I am afraid that you cannot come with us." Jack replied, earning worried looks from the other civilians as Ba'ak nodded with an understanding expression.

"I understand completely, but will there be a evacuation shuttle for us. Because I guess it would be to dangerous to stay put, even with all the dead enemies around us?"

The Prime looked around for Grunt and saw the Krogan standing at the edge of the group.

"Grunt, call in a shuttle for these coordinates."

"Will do Jack." the Krogan replied with a nod before raising a hand to his com-link. The Prime then turned back to Garrus and was about to say something when his com-link came to life.

"Jackson Prime come in, this is Joker. Do you read...come on, don't leave me hanging?" a male voice spoke with a rather impatient tone.

"Joker, I am here. What have you to report?"

"All Aerialbots deployed and in the battle, plus we are making short work of these enemy ships. Their pilots aren't very good, if I do say so myself." the Pilot replied.

"Don't get overconfident Joker." Jack said back.

"...Pft, just saying it as it is Prime. They have not shot down any of us yet, but we are knocking them down like dominoes. I am just saying, it's too easy."

"Understood." the Prime replied as he looked back at the others while Joker went quiet for a moment, before he spoke up again.

"Oh also, I heard your looking for the Leader that Arcee mentioned in her burst transmission earlier."

"That's right, what do you have?" Jack asked, keeping his attention on the Pilot's voice as he heard weapons fire and explosions on the other end of the call.

"Powerglide just reported spotting a group that fit the profile, and he swore that Arcee was with them."

Jack's eyes widened at that comment as he heart almost skipped a beat.

"Which direction were they heading?" he asked in a calm and commanding manner, managing to hide the obvious worry that was quietly threatening to over rule him as Joker went quiet for another second or two as he conversed with his teammate, then just as Jack felt his chest tighten as the wait was beginning to beat him, the pilot spoke again.

"Powerglide says they were west of your current location and based on their direction, heading toward the Space dock near the New Iacon Vault."

"Thanks Joker, now get these bastards out of my sky." Jack replied while looking up into the sky to see more Aerialbot fighters flying overhead, as they were entering the battle playing out in the skies over the besieged city. Grunt then walked up to the group, gaining the Autobot Leader's attention.

"Jack, we have a shuttle on it's way to evacuate the civilians here."

The Prime nodded in return as the civilians all looked far more relieved than they had, as Ba'ak offered him his hand.

"I know I have already said this, but on behalf of all of us...thank you."

"Just doing our jobs, but your all welcome." Jack replied as Smokescreen and Garrus joined his side, Grunt meanwhile walked over to his teammates while ignoring the constant smiles from the Turian couple as they continued to stare at him.

"Can we go now? I need to kill something." he asked in a cold and uncaring tone.

"Lets go." Jack said before they began to head off in the direction of the vaults, Garrus though looked back and gave the civilians an encouraging smile.

"The shuttle will be here in under a minute, so just sit tight."

The group smiled and nodded back as they watched the heroes that saved hem disappear behind a derelict building.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile the fighting was fierce as Galvatron's group was carving a bloody path through the Autobot lines, as they bravely fought back to protect their home and people. A group of Autobots made up of Turians, Krogan and Geth charged into the fray with their weapons blazing, making the Predacon group dive behind the cover of some derelict cars.

"Blight, keep firing on the enemy position from here while I sneak around the back." Galvatron said while unbeknownst to the rest, Megatron looked at the clone with disgust.

"You...sneaking, once again you prove me right. For I always let my enemies know I was there, because I wasn't a coward!" he spat, but the Predacon leader managed to keep his anger in check as he ignored this vocal attack from his hallucination. He then turned to the two Terracons and the Autobot Femme in their custody.

"Make sure 'Arcee' doesn't try anything, I wouldn't want our ace in the hole to end up joining her Sister in the Allspark too soon." he said with a sly grin, but the Femme simply looked down at the floor as she mourned Chromia's death, even all the sounds and sights of war surrounding her could not gain her attention.

"Aye aye, sir." the Terracons said in unison, so the Predacon leader took one final look at the Femme before turning round and leaving the group but as he did, Arcee suddenly looked at him with narrowed eyes and a cold stare.

_'I'll wait for the right moment, then I will kill you.'_  she thought with a clear and focused mind.

Galvatron kept as quiet as he could while moving behind whatever cover he could find, meanwhile his Predacon troops continued to fire on the Autobot position that was blocking their path, hoping to keep their enemies attention on them as their leader got the jump on them. The Lord of the Predacons managed to get round to the aft position of one of the Autobots, it was a young Krogan and by the look of him, very inexperienced.

' _Excellent, my attack has made the Autobots panic and bring in everyone to fight, even those who are clearly not ready._ ' Galvatron thought as he knelt behind the broken wall just away from the Krogan and noticed how restless it looked, like he would rather be further up the front lines than simply guarding this area. But then the Predacon made his move and lunged from his hiding spot at young soldier, who jumped in shock at what was storming towards him.

The Krogan did not have time to bring his weapon up as Galvatron grabbed it with one hand, while equipping his blade and stabbing it into the soldier's face which spilled more blood as the enemy's body spasmed in response. The Predacon Lord then pulled the blade out, which was followed by a lot of blood that sprayed out over his shoulder and onto the ground as he let the dying Krogan fall on his back.

Galvatron then entered the Autobot position and while the majority of the soldiers were concentrating on the Predacons firing at them, one Geth turned round so it could reload it's weapon. But it's singular optic widened at the sight of Galvatron, who was standing in their midst with their Krogan guard lying dead at his feet.

"Alert, enemy behind us!" the Geth shouted as it fumbled it's weapon, but then went silent as it's face was sliced in half by the Predacon leader's blade. The other Autobots turned round to see what the commotion was about, but they too looked shocked as Galvatron began attacking each and every one of them. He sliced through a Turian who attempted to aim his weapon at the Con, causing the Autobot to fall back on another Geth who had returned his attention to the other Predacons who began to advance on their position. And while the Geth was on the floor with a dead comrade on top of him, the Lord of the Predacons buried his blade into the synthetic's chest and caused it's optic to dim and go out.

As this was happening, some of the other soldiers managed to aim their weapons at Galvatron. But before they could fire, Blight and the other Terracons stormed their defences and slaughtered the rest with either their holo-blades and claws, leaving Galvatron to stand amongst them and take in the slaughter that they had imposed on these Autobots.

The last two Terracons them arrived with Arcee in tow, who looked at her dead comrades lying soaked in their own blood about the place. And an expression of sadness appeared on her face before she looked up to see Galvatron smiling down at her, taking pleasure in her turmoil. Suddenly an explosion occurred in the sky that got the attention of everyone there, as one of the Predacon controlled cruisers was destroyed above the city by one of their Autobot equivalents. The debris rained down on the battlefield below as Galvatron notices that the aerial battle was turning in their enemies favor.

"Six-shot to Lord Galvatron." a voice spoke through the Lord's com-link.

"Six-shot report." the Predacon leader replied with an irritated tone.

"My lord, the Aerialbots have shot down or destroyed over half of our airborne forces. We are in danger of losing our advantage." the Predacon pilot said back in a worried voice.

"What? How did this happen?" Galvatron spat.

"The Aerialbots are better pilots my Lord, they are flying circles around our own. I am confused to how I have managed to evade them thus far."

That last sentence held secret meaning to it that escaped the young Predacon, but not his Master as Galvatron remembered that Six-shot was once a Cybertronian Pilot with sympathies toward the Autobots and their cause. Hence his far superior flight skills when compared to that of the Terracons, but the Predacon leader could not ever let Six-shot or any of his army discover the truth about himself being a clone of Megatron and not one of them.

"Six-shot, I believe it is time for our beasts to spread their wings." Galvatron said as the other end of the link went quiet for a moment.

"...yes, if you believe that is wise Lord Galvatron?" the Pilot replied with an unsure tone in his voice.

"I do, now regroup with the rest of our fighters and make sure we lose no one else. I will make sure you are not interrupted in the meantime." the Predacon Leader said back before closing the link and recalibrating it, and then sent out another signal while looking over to the Icarus which was still buried in the Decagon.

"It is time my Beasts, time to awaken and serve your one true master in crushing our shared enemies."

On board the Icarus, even though there was no one on board the ship and all it's systems had been powered down since the crash. A deep breathing could be heard echoing down the ship's darkened corridors from inside it's large cargo bay, where two pairs of optics opened and glowed bright yellow light as two giant beasts began moving in the pitch black area. Suddenly one roared and it was so loud that the Autobots and Predacons fighting outside of the Icarus stopped and looked over to the derelict husk of a ship, the former looking confused and worried to what was about to happen and the latter smiling for they knew what had just been awakened. Suddenly the sounds of metal being crunched and ripped apart came from on top of the ship and the beasts roared again, this time with nothing between them and the outside. The roars could be heard by everyone as the sounds of terror carried on the air and reached not only Jack and his team who looked back in shock, but also Galvatron and his men who looked at the Predacon Lord who smirked in response.

"Predaking, Grimwing. Welcome to the new world." he said while raising his blade to the heavens just as the roof of the Icarus began to cave in, as a metallic paw with razor sharp claws suddenly appeared and clung onto hull and a jet-black and orange metallic Dragon of immense size and length climbed out onto the top of the ship. It was followed by a similarly large green and silver Dragon and both looked around at their surroundings, before looking directly at the Predacon Leader who's smile widened. Arcee though watched with wide-eyed shock as it dawned on her who these enemies were.

"By the Allspark, now I remember them." she said, while Galvatron focused on the Beasts.

"Now my beasts, destroy our enemies and pave the way towards victory." he shouted in an almost hysteric tone, as both dragons spread their massive wings and gave out another roar that shook the very ground around them before leaping off the ground and taking flight.

In one of the Aerialbot fighters, Joker looked out of his canopy at the two dragons as the joined him and others in the sky.

"What the shit!" he gasped as he suddenly had to veer to the right in time to miss Predaking who flew straight past him, missing the Autobot pilot by mere inches.

"Alright guys, new plan. Fire at these...dragon-like-things, I can't believe I just said that." he said into his com-link as the new arrivals began striking down the Aerial bots, one or two at a time with their claws and teeth. Down on the ground, Galvatron could not help but enjoy the sight before him as the modern world was reintroduced to the ones 'that should have been'.

"How? The Predacons were made extinct during the great cataclysm." Arcee asked out loud, while still in shock at this new revelation. Galvatron turned to her and stared down at the femme.

"We are Predacons...reborn! And we will take that which should have been ours from the very beginning."

"Which is...?" she asked in return while fighting the need to attack him there and then for what he had done to her.

"The Galaxy of course, we want the Galaxy under our feet."

Arcee looked down at the ground as Blight turned to the Predacon Lord, who had gone back to watching the dragons who were decimating the Aerialbots at that moment.

"My lord, we can not carry on down this path, as the building that used to be standing there has just collapsed and blocked off the road." the Predacon Lieutenant reported as he pointed toward said building, gaining Galvatron's attention.

"So we will instead cut through the Iacon vaults then."

"But Lord Galvatron, the vaults are sealed. There is no where to enter since the building went into lockdown the moment we attacked." Blight replied.

"Really?" the Predacon leader said as he gave his subordinate a knowing look, then he turned and tapped his com-link as His eyes fell on Grimwing.

"Grimwing, your master requires assistence." he said as he pointed over to the vaults. Suddenly the winged behemoth turned and flew over head, as the beats of it's powerful wings could be felt by those under it passes them and landed on the ground outside the building. It then opened it's mouth as a light glowed through it's throat and up until the light appeared in it's open maw, before unleashing a blast of fiery plasma at the side of the building. It's powerful concentrated heat began to melt away the concrete and steel of that section of the vaults, weakening them considerably. The green and silver dragon then turned on its feet and swung it's tail into the damaged wall, shattering it and opening up the building for Galvatron and the others.

"Thank you Grimwing, now return to the battle and destroy the Autobots." the Predacon Leader said before the dragon turned away and flew away back towards Predaking and the Autobot forces nearby.

"Let's go, for our secondary objective is just beyond this vault" Galvatron then said to the rest of the Predacons as he then led them inside.

As this was happening, the Aerialbots were now having a difficult time finishing off the Predacon fighters and cruisers as Predaking and Grimwing were giving the enemy a very clear advantage. The massive dragon flew down over one cruiser and used it's fire-breath on the vessel's bridge, which drained the shields protecting that section and then burnt up everyone there, causing the ship to lose control and crash-land into ruins of New Iacon below. Grimwing then fired several fireballs into the grounded cruiser and caused it to explode. Joker saw the whole thing from his cockpit, he watches in wide-eyed horror as he couldn't believe how quickly the tables had turned.

"We've lost the Tyger Pax, I repeat we have lost the Tyger Pax." the pilot said as he then fired his cannons and destroyed a Predacon fighter that had flew in front of his ship. He flew the fighter threw the explosion and turned around to see black and Orange dragon flying in a parallel course to him

"Come on guys, let's get it together." he said into his com-link, hoping to motivate his pilots a bit more.

"But Joker, these things are impervious to our weapons and they are out-flying us." one of his squad replied, earning a head-shake from the lead pilot.

"There are people on the ground counting on us, now wings Beta and Gamma….concentrate your fire on the enemy fighters. Zeta and Epsilon, provide cover for our cruisers and Alpha and Kappa, form up on me."

"What's our target Joker?" another pilot asked as several Autobot pilots entered formation behind their leader.

"We're taking on those two Dragons." Joker replied confidently as he stared out at the two behemoths in front of them. The fighters then flew in up close as they entered weapons range, just as both Predacon giants breathed fire down on the masses below, incinerating them instantly and leaving flaming ruins in their wake.

"Open fire!" Joker shouted as he and all the fighters behind him fired missiles and let loose with their cannons, launching a hail of bullets that hit the backs of both Predaking and Grimwing who barely noticed the projectiles as their lightly impacted their metallic hides. But several of the missiles score direct hits on dragons, earning grunts of annoyance from both as they looked back to see the swarm of small fighters following them.

Predaking then turned over on to its back and fired several streams of hot plasma-like fire that caused Joker and the Aerialbots to take evasive action, meanwhile Grimwing beated it's wings with more power as it ascended higher up into the sky. After veering his fighter to narrowly miss the white hot fire that was being launched in his direction by the black and orange dragon, Joker fired his cannons again and hit Predaking directly in the face. The Dragon roared before turning back onto it's front and veering hard to the right, getting itself out of the pilot's crosshairs.

"Damn it, we haven't even made a dent in it's metal hide." one of the pilots said in a deflated tone, before Joker noticed something was a miss.

"Where is the other one?" he asked while looking at the view outside his cockpit's canopy, just as Predaking was making some distance between itself and the Aerialbots.

"It must have disappeared while we were evading the other one's attack sir." another team-mate replied before he noticed the area darkening around him, like a storm cloud blocking out the sunlight to the ground below it. So he looked up and immediately gulped as fear as the reflection of a giant winged beast reflected in his eye.

"It's here!" he shouted as the green and silver form of Grimwing descended upon the fighters like a Hawk would to it's prey, firing several fireballs that destroyed him and several of the other Aerialbot fighters in one go.

"Evasive!" Joker shouted before witnessing the Predacon fly through the other fighters, clipping two with it's massive wings and sending them down to their deaths as they exploded on the ground below. Then out of nowhere, Predaking swooped in and chomped on one fighter before clawing at another and sending it spiraling to the ground. Both Alpha and Kappa wings were in a complete disarray at this point as both dragons picked them off, until only two fighters remained.

"This is Joker, anybody left out of Alpha and Kappa wings?" the lead Pilot said as he managed to keep his distance from both of the Predacon beasts.

"Skydive here, everyone else is gone." the voice of a young Pilot replied hesitantly, Joker then looked out of the left hand side of his cockpit to see a damaged Aerialbot fighter enter formation with him.

"Just stay at my wing, where are the two dragons now?"

"They are moving off, back towards the center of the city." Skydive replied.

"We can't let them take out the rest of our forces, so follow me and keep your weapons primed." Joker said back as he turned his fighter around with Skydive on his wing and the two Aerialbots headed back after the dragons, who had began attacking the remaining cruisers. Predaking flew around one, managing to evade the cruiser's flak cannons while scorching it's hull with it's fire-breath. Grimwing meanwhile, landed on top of another's engine module and began tearing away at it with it's powerful claws and teeth.

"They are both trying to take down the 'Washington' and the 'Legion'." Skydive said as they closed in on the beasts.

"We have to split up and take each dragon solo." Joker replied.

"What! But we couldn't even take them down when our numbers were greater..." the younger Aerialbot started to say back in a shocked tone, but then Joker cut him off.

"We have to try, or else we will lose both ships. I will take on the one attacking the legion, you distract the green and silver one."

"...Roger that." Skydive replied before pulling away and moving towards Grimwing, while Joker set his sights on Predaking who was still attacking the Legion. He fired his cannons and again the bullets did little to no damage on the dragon's armoured body, but the Predacon looked over and saw the lone Aerialbot fighter advancing on it' position and turned it's attention from the Legion which took the opportunity to make some distance on the beast.

The dragon then roared as it powered up an blast of fire breath, but Joker saw the signs as the light of the plasma glowed between the spaces of it's armoured neck as it was channeled up towards the mouth. So the pilot fired another missile which flew directly into the behemoth's mouth, exploding upon impact and creating a large cloud of smoke that covered the Predacon.

"Come on, that must have done some damage?" Joker said to himself as he flew around the cloud, hoping to see the beast fall from within it. But within a few seconds he got his answer as a deafening roar could be heard, making his eyes widen as the beast burst out of the cloud and flew directly at him with what could only be described as a look of pure rage upon it's face. The Aerialbot just managed to pull of a split second evasive manoeuvre, missing Predaking's attack by inches as he hit the afterburners and pulled away with the beast in hot pursuit.

"Oh great, I pissed it off." Joker said as several fireballs flew past his fighter from behind as the dragon got closer, causing the pilot to put everything into the engines and hope that he could out run it as well as get it farther from the other Autobot ships as he could. But suddenly the fighter was shaken by an impact at it's rear, causing the master alarm to sound off.

' _Shit, engines been hit._ ' he thought as he saw the schematic of his fighter appear on a holo-screen to his left, the engines flashing red as he felt the fighter's control slipping from him.

"Mayday Mayday, this is Joker. I have been hit badly and am losing control of the fighter. I am going down, I repeat I am going down." he said into his com-link before pressing the flashing ejection button on the holo-interface. In an instant the canopy was blown off from the cockpit, exposing him to the gale force like air that was hitting the ship hard as it carried on descending.

And Joker soon followed as he was shot up out of the fighter while strapped to his seat, the fighter continued to go on without in as he let the force of the launch carry him up higher into the air before the seat's straps released him and found himself free falling back towards the ground. He tried to reach down for the chute release, but the force of the air hitting him as gravity pulled him back down to the ground was very strong.

So he edged his hand closer until he got a firm grip on the release and yanked it hard, which released the parachute from within the pack on his back and it expanded rapidly until enough of the air was caught under it, immediately putting the breaks on Joker's descent and hurt his body like hell while doing so.

_'Fuck me, I think I broke my ribs.'_  he thought as his torso ached, but now that he was slowly floating down to the ground below like a leaf in a gentle breeze. He could look around at the city of New Iacon and the visible scars of the battle that was still raging within and over it, he then saw the black and orange dragon as it followed his fighter until it hit the ground and exploded. Which earned a roar of approval from the beast as it turned around and flew back towards the battle, leaving Joker alone as he spotted Skydive's fighter which was firing at the green and silver Dragon that was still on the Washington.

_'What are you doing? Your getting to close.'_  he thought as the fighter flew directly at the Beast which then fired a spread of fireballs in it's direction, which made Skydive veer out of their way. But Grimwing suddenly sweeped his tail up in that direction, which left the young pilot with no chance to evade and his fighter hit the tail directly at full speed, killing him as the ship exploded.

Joker turned his head away and looked down to the ground as he mourned yet another pilot who's life had been extinguished by this new enemy, one that only a short time ago looked as if they were going to lose this battle, or at least the one going on in the sky. But he knew there was still hope as Jackson Prime was still out there fighting amongst the enemy and maybe if he could take out their leader, then this battle would be over before it could get any worse.

 


	12. Chapter 12

Garrus looked through the scope of his sniper rifle and scanned the horizon around him, his eye took in all the death and destruction that this new enemy had inflicted upon New Iacon. If he was an overly emotional man, this probably would have made him shed a tear for those that had already been taken from this world, but Garrus had already seen his fair share of war and had grown accustomed to keeping his mind in the here and now. For he was a Turian, and as a species they were always one of the most military-centric in the galaxy. So he kept looking through scope, though in fact he used to think that viewing war through a scope actually made everything he saw seem less real, and that he was really just an observer and not a part of it. Not a very healthy way to view the carnage that was playing out in front of him, and that was something Garrus had learned when he was but a soldier of the Turian Hierarchy.

For if you truly disconnect yourself from what you are doing, then you lose a part of why you are doing it in the first place. And he had seen that happen to one that he had known back then, his name was Vrynnus and he was the single greatest sniper in the history of his species. Though his psyche was unstable and thus was promptly dishonourably discharged. Garrus had not seen or heard of Vrynnus since then, but as he saw a civilian family attempting to outrun a group of Predacon soldiers. He could not help but feel glad that he had not turned out the same way before pulling the trigger on his rifle and killing the first soldier with a shot to the head. The others suddenly looked up after their comrade had fell to the ground and the Turian quickly dispatched them too, leaving the family in the clear. He watched as they made their way to more cover before his com-link activated.

"Garrus, how does it look out there?" Jack said, gaining the Turian's attention as he reloaded his rifle.

"We are clear to move Jack, no Predacons in this area. Though there is a family of civilians who need evacuating."

"Then call in a shuttle and get back here, because we are heading for the Vaults." the Prime replied.

"Roger that." Garrus said back before he got to his feet and reactivated his com-link, turning his back on the civilians as he headed back to the others.

Jack meanwhile was waiting with both Smokescreen and Grunt, watching the battle taking place in the sky above the city. And he just had just witnessed one of the Aerialbot fighters being taken out by the green and silver dragon that currently stood atop one of the Autobot cruisers.

"Scrap, exactly how are we going to beat those two beasts, let alone the army that controls them?" Smokescreen asked, earning a serious look from the Prime.

"By defeating their leader, that is how." he said, earning a nod from the Autobot. Grunt smiled and looked at both of them.

"Decapitate the Thresher Maw's head and it's body will die, I like that plan."

"Thought you might, we will head off the moment Garrus gets back." Jack replied as the Krogan started to reload his shotgun, though Smokescreen joined the Prime's side as he went back to looking at the perimeter.

"What's wrong Smokescreen?" Jack asked as he looked turned to his friend, noticing the younger Bot's slightly worried yet hopeful expression.

"I am sure Arcee's alright Jack, we'll get her back." he said in his usual enthusiastic tone, earning an ever so slight smile from the Prime. For when Smokescreen was younger, that tone might have been mistaken for a naive-like overconfidence. But now that he was older, it could be seen for what it truly was. Maybe what it always had been... Potential. For over the past two decades, Jack had seen the Autobot grow from green as green rookie, into one of the best warriors in the entire Autobot ranks.

And the Prime had to admit that Smokescreen had the same potential that both he and Orion Pax had within themselves, which was the potential of becoming a Prime. But unfortunately for the bot, it was not meant to be. For Jack already knew who the next Prime would be, though he could not explain how or why he knew. He just had to ensure that the future he knew of, came to pass. And so to witness the individual in question desperately trying to avoid such a fate was just very disappointing to the Autobot leader to see.

"Jack?" Smokescreen asked again with a confused expression, snapping the Prime from his thoughts.

"I'm okay, and I know we will get Arcee back."

The Autobot smiled in return before Garrus appeared from over the ridge and rejoined the group.

"What's it like between us and the vaults?" Jack asked.

"Just took out another patrol, so if we are going to do this then we should move now." the Turian replied, earning a nod from the Prime.

"Alright guys, we head straight for the vaults. No stopping for anything now, we have stop the Leader of this attack. So roll out."

The team then left the area and moved with purpose towards the building just north of their current position while conflict continued to rage on around them.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile inside the Vaults, Galvatron and his Predacon troops walked through a large hallway that had a massive cybertronain painting upon it's ceiling. From the way it looked, you wouldn't think that it was a storage bunker as it looked more like a temple. But as the group continued through its interior, Blight looked over to the Predacon leader.

"Lord Galvatron while we are here, shall we raid the vault for whatever relics and objects that could be of use to our cause?"

"There is no need Blight, for everything we require is just beyond this very building. So Why don't we..." Galvatron began to say before he suddenly felt the need to look over to a corridor situated to the group's right, which earned confused looks from everyone there. What he felt was like a burning desire in his spark that was not there only moments earlier, and this confused the Predacon Leader.

' _Why do I suddenly wish to explore the vaults? I had no plans to originally...but I feel that I must._ ' he thought as he placed his hand onto his chest plate which was directly over the area where his spark was contained, as it was pulsing faster and faster with a need to investigate that now mysterious corridor.

"My lord?" Blight asked in a confused tone as the Predacon Leader ignored him and continued to look away from them, the Terracons in the group began whispering to each other. Even the two guarding Arcee began conversing quietly as the Lieutenant tried again to gain their master's attention, but the Femme could hear what they were saying.

"Here we go again..." the right one said, earning a look from the one on the left.

"What? What have I missed this time?"

"You have heard about our Lord's lapses in concentration, haven't you?" the right one replied.

"Oh you mean when he suddenly looks away from people and stares angrily toward an area where there is no one." the left one answered, earning a nod from his friend.

"Yeah, and how others have heard our Lord talking to himself inside his own quarters, despite the fact that he is alone in there."

"I have heard that, so this is another episode we are seeing here." the left one replied.

"I wonder what he is going to do this time?" the right one said but unbeknownst to them, Arcee was eavesdropping on their conversation.

_'So Galvatron is crazy, wonder if there is a way I can use that to my advantage.'_  she thought before Galvatron spoke again.

"On second thoughts, Blight take two of the Terracons with you and secure the building's exit, while I will take a look inside the vault for any trinkets that could be of use." he said while looking back at his men, earning a worried stare from Arcee as the Predacon Leader kept his attention on Blight.

' _He can't be allowed to get any of the relics down there, if he so much as finds those like 'the spark extractor', 'the Apex Armour' or 'the Resonance blaster' , then he would get a significant advantage. Even more than what he has already with the Predacons._ ' she thought as the others continued to converse.

"And take our Prisoner with you, I would not wish for her to be near any of the objects down there that she could use as a weapon against us." Galvatron added as he looked back at the Femme.

"Yes my Lord." Blight answered in return, before the Predacon leader and two Terracons turned to leave sown the right hand corridor. But suddenly Arcee started to struggle against her captors, earning surprised look from both of them as they kept a grip on her arms.

"Quit your struggling, your not going to get away from us." the left one said, but the Femme carried on.

"I said stop it!" he said again as he went to hit her with his free hand but the Autobot moved her head backwards, making the Terracon move forward with the momentum of the punch he threw at her, making he lean forward. While he was like this, Arcee took her chance and kneed him in the chest which caused the Con to let go of her arm while staggering back.

"What are you doing, you stupid wretch?" the other asked right before the Femme then hit him in the face with her free hand, disorienting the Terracon before she followed through with a kick to the chest, sending him onto his back.

Galvatron just turned around and aimed his rifle at Arcee's legs and opened fire, but the femme was quick enough to take cover behind the Terracon who was still clutching his chest. The Predacon Lord though, kept his finger on the trigger and fired again at her legs. Which ripped through the Terracon's own, causing him to fall to the ground as blood spilled out from the wounds. Arcee though just pushed herself harder, running down the corridor and out of Galvatron's range.

"Damn it." he spat as she disappeared out of view, while Blight took a few steps in her direction only for the Predacon Leader to hold his hand up to him.

"No, I will handle this. You already have your orders." he said before looking down at the Terracons that were still on the floor.

"Kill these two." he barked without even looking them in the eyes, earning a confused look from his Lieutenant.

"My Lord?" he asked with a puzzled tone, while the soldiers looked up at him.

"They have failed me,..." Galvatron said with disdain in his voice, so the Lieutenant equipped his gun and shot both Terracons in the head without any further hesitation, their bodies then fell back onto the floor with a smoking hole in each of their heads.

"...also contact Lazerback and request reinforcements." the Predacon Lord added as he began to walk down the corridor, leaving the Predacons who then walked in the opposite direction towards the exit.

Arcee kept moving as the corridor began to slant somewhat, descending down into the vaults until she came to a T-junction at the corridors end. The Femme looked down both directions that were open to her and frowned.

' _Scrap, which way were the weapons again?_ ' she thought before hearing footsteps approaching from further up the way she had come from, building up the urgency of her situation.

' _Come on...damn it, why can't I remember. Fuck it._ " she thought before running down the left corridor and into the more dimly lit area of the vaults, hoping that her guess would turn out to be right. Then a moment later Galvatron walked down to that same Junction and stopped in it's center, before taking a look down both corridors connected to it.

' _Which way did you go Autobot?_ ' he thought before that feeling returned and he looked back down the corridor on his left, as he felt a tingling sensation all over his skin along with a sudden crystal clear sense of purpose. So the Predacon Leader began walking down the left hand corridor, not knowing that the Arcee had gone down that exact same corridor.

The corridor then opened up into a massive dimly lit room, with the only sources of illumination coming from the small lights on the high ceiling and in the special display cases that were positioned in a grid like structure throughout the room. Arcee looked around her to see that she was alone, but the Femme still had no idea if she was in the correct room. So she looked at a number of the display cases an found numerous artifacts and relics from Members throughout the Federation, like the original statue of the Goddess Athame that belonged to the Asari. There were numerous relics similar to that in this room and that was when Arcee saw it, giving her a feeling of relief in her spark as she looked upon a large golden hammer that could only be the Forge of Solus Prime. It was a sign that she was in the right place, as she stood there and looked at it.

' _At least I am not in the weapons area, I just wonder if..._ ' she began to think, before a vile voice cut her off as it echoed throughout the room.

"I know your in here Autobot." Galvtron said aloud, his voice echoing through the vast room, but Arcee just kept quiet as he continued to speak.

"Why don't you just surrender since you know you cannot defeat me." he added while walking further into the room, as Arcee hid behind one of the cases and looked back towards the entrance,. And there she saw Predacon Leader. Galvatron looked around the room, his eyes scanning every detail of his surroundings as he continued further into it.

"You obviously did this because you think I would want the weapons that are so obviously stored in this vault...

such a waste of energy and time. Because like I said before, I have no..." he continued to say before he was cut off by that feeling in his spark remerging, though now it was stronger than ever as it overrode his senses.

"Arrgh!" Galvatron spluttered as he fell on to his knees, clenching at his spark as it pulsed even stronger.

' _What's wrong with me?_ ' he thought before looking up and noticing a large glass case just a few aisles ahead of him, to his eyes it was glowing a bright white light that one would think was blinding, but the Predacon Lord found himself fascinated by it, like a moth to a candle light.

So he got back to his feet and walked even further into the maze of display cases, while Arcee watched from her hiding spot.

' _What?_ ' she thought before deciding to move closer and observe her enemy, because if he was distracted then she may have a chance to avenge her Sister and end this conflict. So the Femme kept to the shadows as she followed the Predacon as he continued to walk through the room in an almost trance-like state, but then he came to a stop in front of one display case and stared at it's contents.

_'What's in the case that has his attention so badly?'_  Arcee thought, wondering why he was no longer searching for her. But unbeknownst to the Femme, Galvatron had pretty much forgotten about his quarry as he was now staring at the object in front of him, which to his eyes was shining brightly like a newly born star, so he could not make out what it looked like. But as the feeling in his spark gained strength, he suddenly heard a loud ringing in his ears. A sound that brought instant pain to the Predacon, making him clutch at his ears and cry out in agony.

"Aaarrrggghhhh!"

This even made Arcee nervous as she watched from just behind the display case behind him, for what was transpiring confused her even more.

_'What in the Allspark?'_  she thought as Galvatron fell back onto his knees and breathed heavily, but before the Femme could guess what would happen next, the Predacon rose up onto his feet and raised his clenched fists into the air. And almost on cue, his fists began to glow with a purple energy before he brought them down on the glass display case. shattering the glass instantly, allowing him access to the artefact.

Galvatron then reached in and picked up the object, looking down at it while the ringing and agonising pain in his spark stopped, even the bright light that had been enveloping the object faded away. His eyes then adjusted while he looked down at what was in his hands, when suddenly his memory kicked in as he recognised the object which looked like a metallic book, making his eyes widen in disbelief.

"It can't be?" he said in surprise while opening it's cover, for it's pages were like glass panels which had Cybertronian letters scrolling down them like code, but the Predacon Lord could not read it as it read like gibberish.

Arcee meanwhile was still watching and saw the book in Glavatron's hands, her eyes widening and jaw almost dropping to the floor in her surprise.

_'The Covenant of Primus!'_  she thought as her mind then jettisoned any further ideas of stealth and patience, with only one thought taking their place.

_'I have to get that book out of his hands. Screw it!'_  she thought before starting to move towards him slowly.

Meanwhile Galvatron was still looking at the book, as something made his eyes widen once again as the random letters and symbols began to change and form whole words before him on the page. He was suddenly able to read it. But before he had the chance to, the Clone suddenly had a feeling and spun around with a punch that connected with Arcee's face as she leapt at him. The force of the hit sent the Femme back to the ground hard, while the Predacon Leader equipped his rifle and pointed it at her as she recovered.

"Stay down Autobot, unless you are that desperate to join your dead friend." he said, earning a look of pure hate from Arcee.

"Chromia was my sister!" she spat back as blood trickled down her chin from her mouth, making Galvatron smile as he enjoyed the turmoil the Autobot was in.

"You don't say, and here I thought you were just trying to get this from me." he replied as he held up the book for the Femme to see, her eyes focused on it for a moment before meeting his again.

"That doesn't belong to you." Arcee said as Galvatron closed the book and connected it to his utility belt.

"I think you will find that it does...now." he said while gesturing for her to stand up, which she did while wiping the blood from her mouth.

"Now get moving." he added while keeping his weapon pointed directly at the Femme, before they then left the room and went back to meet up with Blight and the Terracons. Galvatron did not know why he was drawn to the Covenant or what he saw in its pages , but he would make sure that he found out. But for now that would have to wait until he and his Predacons had secured their secondary objective.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Jack and his team arrived outside the New Iacon vault to find a massive hole in the building's wall, but no welcoming committee. The Prime, Smokescreen and Grunt kept their weapons ready while Garrus looked up to the giant hole and whistled.

"Now that is a big hole." he said in amazement at the sheer size of the improvised entrance, Smokescreen stood turned his attention to what thr Turian was looking at and nodded.

"It certainly is, bet it was one of those dragon-like beasts. I am just glad that those things aren't here now."

This earned a look of disappointment from Grunt who sneered back.

"What's the matter Smokescreen, you afraid of fighting a little Beast?" he said, gaining a knowing stare from the Bot.

"No, I'm just not crazy like you Grunt." the Smokescreen replied, which made the Krogan narrow his eyes back in return.

"When you've faced a Thresher Maw up close and killed it with just a shotgun and your bare hands, then you certainly won't fear Dragons or whatever you call those things." the he snarled with anger tinging his voice, earning an eye roll from both Jack and Garrus.

"Here we go again." the Turian whispered, while the Prime left his side and walked over to the other pair.

"That's enough, Grunt save it for the enemy. And Smokescreen, you know better than to piss off a Krogan."

"You think he would, but how many times has he done it now?" Garrus casually replied with a smile, making the young Autobot look at him with a shocked expression.

"That's not cool Garrus."

As they bickered, the Prime decided to ignore them and instead look out at the City around them, this did not go unnoticed by his friends who stopped and looked at their Leader who had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"What is it Jack?" Smokescreen asked as they stood around him.

"We know the enemy Leader is in there, so it's plausible to assume that more of his troops will come this way." Jack replied, earning a nod from Garrus.

"Yeah, I agree with that. So what's the plan?"

"You three will stay here and take up defensive positions, ensure that no other enemies make it in there after me."

All three of his friends gave him a concerned look in response, while ignoring the Aerialbot reinforcements flying over head.

"But what are you doing during this?" Smokescreen asked, before either Garrus or Grunt could utter a word.

"I am going in there to rescue my Spark-mate and kill their Leader, and I am doing this alone. There will be more chance that I can get the drop on them." the Prime said back, earning a worried look from the younger Bot.

"But…." he started to say, though Jack simply cut him off.

"That is an order, now get to it. We can't waste anymore time, we need end this conflict now." he said as placed his rifle on his back and equipped his pistol. The others nodded in return and as Jack turned away and headed into the building, both Garrus and Grunt started looking for good places to ambush anyone that would show up. But as they did so, Smokescreen just watched as his Leader and friend headed off into the darkness of the vaults.

As Jackson Prime made his way through large halls of the Iacon Vaults, he could not help but notice the lack of any kind of rear guard for the enemy leader.

' _Either he isn't expecting an attack, or is just very over confident._ ' Jack thought as he carried on further into the building, being sure not to make make any noise since it would be magnified and echo through out these large halls, alerting the enemy to his presense. But just as he was about to leave the current area, the Prime heard a foot step behind him so he spun around with his pistol and star saber holo-blade, ready to take down what had krept up on him in a heartbeat.

"Woah, take it easy."

Jack simply looked at Smokescreen who was standing right in front of him, his arms raised in a non threatening manner with a look of surprise on his face.

"Its just me Jack." the young Bot added, while Jack's eyes suddenly narrowed as a look or thunder appeared on the his face.

"I told you to stay with the others and defend the entrance." he whispered back, though even the lower volume could not disguise the angry tone that came with them. But the Autobot simply returned Jack's angry expression with a frank look.

"Sorry Jack, but I could not leave you to face what could be an overwhelming force in here alone, I just could not do it."

"And what about the others?" Jack replied.

Meanwhile Garrus and Wrex had taken up defensive postions near the entrance to the building, which gave them good cover and view of the area leading up to them.

"Hey is it me, or has it gotten a lot quieter all of a sudden?" Grunt asked due to the lack of talk, so he and the Turian looked around to find that they were they only ones there.

"Oh for the love of..." Garrus suddenly said with an agitated tone as the Krogan chuckled to himself.

"...Can't Smokescreen simply follow orders, I hate it when he runs off like that." the Turian added.

"Well I am just happy that he isn't talking my ear off, but I guess he followed Jack." Grunt replied.

"Of course he did, damn it Smokescreen." Garrus said back as Grunt noticed movement ahead of them.

"Garrus, we have incoming."

The Turian looked through the scope of his rifle and saw more enemy soldiers approaching their position by foot.

"I see them. Okay, pick your targets and make sure they go down in one hit. We don't want them to get too close, or else they could swarm us. Lets keep them disorganised."

"Whatever you say, lets just kill them already." Grunt replied as he readied his rifle and aimed it at one of the enemies. Garrus meanwhile had the head of one directly in his cross hairs and took a deep breath, and then pulled the trigger.

Back inside the Vaults and Jack was still looking angry as he stared at Smokescreen.

"Well? What about the others?"

"You need the help more than they do Jack, I mean Garrus is one of the best snipers in the galaxy. And Grunt is a walking roadblock, you and I both know they can handle it." Smokescreen replied in a completely honest tone, which was reflected in the expression on his face. Jack simply sighed in response, knowing full well that the younger Autobot was right. He just wished that Smokescreen would actually follow his orders to the letter from time to time.

"Okay, your with me then. Just stay quiet and follow my lead, alright?"

"Of course Jack, lead the way." Smokescreen replied before both of then heard voices echoing from down the corridor before them.

"They are just ahead of us, be ready." Jack said, earning a nod from his friend as they both equipped their weapons and made their way into the corridor.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

"The exit is secure sir." the Terracon standing to Blight's left said, making the Predacon turn to him and nod in acknowledgment.

"Very well, then all that is left is to await Lord Galvatron's arrival." he replied as both soldiers saluted him.

"You won't have to wait long." a familiar voice called out from the room's entrance as Galvatron appeared with Arcee at in front of him, pushing her forward with his free hand as he kept his rifle aimed at her.

"Keep moving Autobot, unless you want to join your Sister in the Allspark a little early?"

The Femme gave him a piercing look of hate, though the Predacon Leader merely ignored this and pushed her again.

"Lord Galvatron, the exit has been secured." Blight reported, earning a smile from his Master.

"Excellent work Blight. Now you two, keep this Femme under close guard or else you will suffer the same fate as the last two...understand?" Galvatron spat as he pushed Arcee toward the two Terracons, who grabbed her and restrained her arms.

"...und...understood Lord Galvatron." they stuttered in unison, the fear they for their leader showing in their faces, which made the Predacon Lord's smile grow a little bigger in response.

Blight then noticed something on his Master's utility belt, something that had not been present earlier.

"My lord, what is that you have in your possession?" he asked, earning the attention of both Terracons while Arcee kept her eyes to the floor.

"This?" Galvatron replied as he held the object in his free hand, giving his men a good look at it.

"...this is the 'Covenant of Primus', an Autobot relic which may hold some answers for us and will be studied once we have left this planet."

Blight looked at the book with an intrigued expression, one that was shared with the Terracons.

"I do not mean to intrude my Lord, but how exactly will we be leaving?" one of the soldiers then said, earning looks of shock from Blight and the Terracon standing next to him before they looked back to see their master's reaction.

Galvatron stared at the questioning soldier with a look of surprise and annoyance, one that pierced directly through into the Terracon's spark and made him uneasy.

"Forgive me my Lord, I am merely curious as we lost the use of the Icarus when we plunged it into the city. And the rest of our cruisers have either been destroyed or under heavy fire."

"Are you now, then why don't you take a look through the exit and tell me what you see." the Predacon Leader replied, making the soldier feel more nervous. But his master merely gestured to him to take a look, so the Terracon walked over to the doorway that exited the vault's building. Once there he could see the ruined city surrounding their location, but less than half a mile directly in front of the questioning soldier was a massive black ship that was in what looked like a dry dock.

"What is that?" he asked.

"That is the newest battleship to come off the Autobot assembly line and it is called the Nemesis, we will be requisitioning it for the Predacon cause." Galvatron replied as he walked over and stood by the Terracon, who merely looked back at the giant black ship.

"It is a pity though that you will not be able to board it with us." the Predacon Leader then added, earning a bemused look from the soldier.

"What?…" he began to say before suddenly being cut off as Galvatron punched his fist into the Terracon's chest and grabbed hold of his spark chamber, making the minion grimace and spit out blood as he fell to his knees. The Predacon Lord then looked down the Terracon, who's eyes had grown wider as the pain became unbearable.

"Do you know what your mistake was?" Galvatron asked as he tightened his grip on the spark chamber, earning a nod from the soldier who could no longer speak due to the ever increasing agony he was currently feeling.

"Good, take that lesson to the pit with you!" the Leader then growled as he tore the spark chamber from the Terracon's chest, scattering his blood around the immediate area. Galvatron then showed the others behind him the blood soaked spark of the dead Terracon, earning shocked looks from all three as the body of the fallen minion collapsed onto the floor.

"Nobody questions Galvatron, understand?" the Predacon Lord spat as he dropped the blooded organ on the floor, earning panicked nods from both Blight and the one remaining Terracon who was holding Arcee. The Femme though simply looked at the enemy Leader with hate and contempt, earning a devious smile from him before looking at the two Predacons.

"Lets go, the Nemesis awaits."

"I don't think so." a voice called out from the other side of the room, making the Predacons turn around and see two men entering the room with their rifles aimed at them. Arcee immediately smiled as she recognised both men, older on especially.

"Jack." she said with a relieved tone in her voice, earning a sneer from Galvatron as he took a step toward the new arrivals.

"Jackson Prime, finally! I was wondering when you would make an appearance." the Predacon leader said with a familiarity that surprised the Prime.

"Excuse me? but I don't believe we've ever met."

Galvatron smiled darkly at the Autobot Leader, for he did know him. But only through his inherited memories from Megatron, and the information he had read on the extranet.

"No, we have not met. And yet...I never forget a face, not even that of a Human."

Jack's eyes widened as he recognised not only that sentence, but also the tone and way it was said. Reminding him of one that died a long time ago.

"Megatron?" he replied with surprise and a questioning tone in his voice. Galvatron's expression suddenly changed as his red eyes narrowed at the Prime while gritting his teeth, the enemy leader was obviously aggravated by what Jack had just said. But what no one in that room knew was that at this very moment, Galvatron also heard an uncontrollable laughter coming from his right side, from someone that everyone else in that room could not see.

" _Ha ha ha ha...I knew it...ha ha ha ha, I knew he would think you were me._ " the hallucination of Megatron exclaimed happily, making the clone's blood boil in his veins as he tried desperately to ignore him.

"My name is Galvatron! Leader of the Predacons, and you will surrender or else I will have your spark-mate terminated." the Predacon Lord replied as he gestured to the both the Terracon and the Femme in his grip, making Smokescreen look a little unnerved as he looked back at Jack. But the But the Prime was unfazed as he looked from Galvatron to his lover, who had her arms held behind her back by the Terracon.

"Arcee, are you going to just take that kind of treatment from these guys?" he asked with a knowing smile on his face, one that was mirrored by the Femme who nodded back before activating her holo-armblades which sliced the Terracon's fore arms off. The soldier gave out a cry of pain as Arcee freed herself, holding it's stubs up in the air as it's blood flowed from the open wounds. The Femme then turned and sliced its chest open, letting the soldier fall to the floor and die as Galvatron looked dumbfounded.

"Blight, kill her." he spat as the Predacon nodded and launched himself at the Femme, only for Smokescreen to come out of nowhere and tackle him to the ground.

"What!" Galvatron said aloud, while Arcee and the younger Autobot stood beside each other, ready to fight the Predacon who was getting back to his feet.

"Thanks for the help Smokescreen." Arcee said, earning a smile from the bot.

"Your welcome, now lets take this guy out."

Galvatron was fuming as he equipped his blade and began to move towards the Femme, only for him to find himself on the defensive as he brought his weapon up just in time to block Jack's star-saber. Galvatron then pushed the Prime back and then swung his blade at him, but Jack easily deflected it with his own.

For the a long moment the two clashed their blades several times in a row as they appeared evenly matched, as neither seemed like losing. The Predacon leader though managed to create an opening by punching Jack in the face, disorienting him for a moment so Galvatron took advantage by thrusting forward with his blade aimed at the Prime's the Autobot leader managed to activate the skyboom shield just in time to block the attack before performing a front kick into Galvatron's chest, knocking him to the ground. But as the Prime stood over his opponent, the Predacon Lord chuckled while looking up at his enemy.

"I'm impressed, your quite devious for a Prime. Launching an attack while my attention was elsewhere, that's almost Decepticon behavior." he sneered, earning a knowing look from Jack.

"Well I guess it's no different to dropping a star-ship on a city, and then attacking while they recover from it. If anything, I would say that your like a certain Decepticon who died a long time ago." The Prime, earning daggers from Galvatron as he stared back in anger. The Predacon then lunged forward with his blade, making Jack deflect the attack with his star-saber. But it was only a feigning from the clone as he then threw a punch with his free hand, which connected with the Prime's jaw, sending him back a few steps until he fell to one knee. Galvatron was about to continue his attack before he was forced to stop as the hallucination of Megatron reappeared in front of him with his arms behind his back, and looked at his clone.

" _He does have point, doesn't he? You should face the fact that you are nothing more than a shadow of me._ " the hallucination said as Galvatron looked at him for a second, just as a purple hue appeared around the pupils in his red eyes.

"Never!" he suddenly screamed as he lunged through Megatron and tackled Jack to the floor.

As Jack and Galvatron fought, Arcee and Smokescreen were busy taking on Blight who had accessed his mode almost immediately, looking just like the Terracon that the femme had killed earlier with the help of her fallen sister. And so did not bat an eye at the change, the same couldn't be said of Smokescreen.

"Holy shit, what the hell?" he said in shock at the transformation that the Predacon just went through.

"Smokescreen, we can take him if we work together." Arcee replied, earning the younger bot's attention as Blight's transformation was just finishing.

"Let me guess, its now stronger and harder to kill." be said, getting a nod from the Femme as she raised her arm blades.

"Right, so follow my lead. Now!" she cried before launching herself at Blight and slicing at his head, just as Smokescreen activated his holo-blade. But the Predacon blocked it and used her inertia to throw her to the ground. Before he could then finish the Femme as she lied there on the floor, the other Autobot attacked with his blade but Blight deflected it with his armoured forearms. And then punched Smokescreen in the face, sending him on to his ass.

Arcee got back to her feet and then side-kicked Blight in the back, making him grimace as she then grabbed At his neck. But the Predacon managed to recover and slash at the Femme's armour, making her let go and he repaid the Autobot by throwing her back to the ground.

"That's where you should stay, wretch... " he replied while staring down at her.

"...at my feet." he added before suddenly crying out in pain, giving Arcee a chance to roll away and get back to her feet. Once recovered, the Femme saw that Smokescreen had stabbed his holo-blade into Blight's back. The Predacon tried to reach back at the bot, but Smokescreen was out of his reach. So Arcee smiled and dashed forward at Blight and slashed at both his legs, causing the enemy lieutenant to fall to his knees as the younger Autobot pulled the blade back out and the pair stood over the defeated Predacon.

"Well that was easier than I thought it would be." Smokescreen joked while breathing heavily, earning an eye roll from the Femme before their attention moved onto Jack as he was fighting Galvatron.

"Come on, we have to help Ja..." she began to say before suddenly being grabbed by Blight and knocked to the ground for a third time, earning a shocked expression from Smokescreen, as he watched the previously thought to be defeated Predacon get back to his feet and narrow it's eyes at him.

"That hurt." Blight said in annoyance as he made his way over to the Autobot.

"...sorry." Smokescreen replied with a sarcastic tone just seconds before the beast-like Con roared and charged at him, making the Autobot dive out of the way. But he wasn't fast enough as he was caught on his side by Blight's sharp claws, which ripped through his armour and the skin beneath. Smokescreen grimaced as he fell to the ground, holding onto his wound that was bleeding through his finger tips. But before he could even acknowledge anything around him, Blight followed through with a kick to his chest. It was so hard and fast, the Autobot was instantly winded as he lay there. The Predacon then picked up the wounded Smokescreen by his throat and looked him in the eye and smiled, which earned him a gob full of saliva as the bot spat in his face.

"You hit like a sparkling." he said with a smile as Blight wiped the spit off himself, and then repaid the act by punching Smokescreen three times in his stomach. Meanwhile Arcee came too and recovered enough to see Blight hurl the younger Autobot through the nearby wall, his body disappearing from sight.

"Smokescreen!" the Femme shouted as a large hole was all that was left where her friend had crashed through the wall, making her look back at Blight with utter hate in her eyes. The Predacon looked from the hole back to the blue Autobot and smiled.

"Another one dead, its really not your day is it."

As Arcee remembered those that she had lost already on this day, Chromia, Ironhide and now Smokescreen. The anger in her spark escalated and without a clear train of thought, she launched herself at Blight in a rage. But before she got within a meter of her enemy, a red armoured hand grabbed her arm and another punched her in the stomach and put the Femme back on her knees as she strained to breath. Blight smiled at the one who stopped her as the new arrival, clad in red and yellow armour looked down at the defeated Autobot.

"I got here as soon as I got your message, just had to take out two Autobots who were guarding the entrance to this building." he said as he looked back to his friend.

"Lazerback, thanks for the assist. Though I did have everything under control." Blight replied with a lopsided grin, earning a knowing look from the other Predacon who had noticed Blight's injuries.  
"Yeah, you sure look like you had control of the situation."

"These are just scratches, so where are the rest of your Terracons?" the blue and white Predacon replied, making his friend point behind him.

"I sent them to help our master."

Arcee's eyes widened at that comment and turned her head to see the Terracons advancing on Jack and Galvatron, who both were too preoccupied with their own battle to have noticed.

_'Jack!'_  she thought instinctively before feeling the eyes of the two Predacons over her, so she looked up to see them looking down at her.

"Your going to watch this." Blight said with a satisfied expression on his face, one mirrored by Lazerback as he pulled her back to her feet and properly restrained her, forcing her to watch the fight unfolding just aways from them.

This was certainly a tougher fight than Jack had experienced in a long time, as he once again blocked another attack from Galvatron. Who's blade clashed with the Prime's star-saber, leaving the Predacon leader open to a counter. So Jack kicked his enemy in the chest, knocking the silver and black/purple armoured man back and giving the Prime the chance to attack again. But before he could do so, Galvatron looked behind him and began to laugh.

"I didn't know you found losing a fight to a Human so funny?" Jack replied sarcastically, making the Predacon shake his head and smile back in a confident manner.  
"Actually it is you Prime who has lost, If you would look around you."

The Autobot leader kept his blade pointed at Galvatron and glanced around him to see not only had Smokescreen disappeared, but also Arcee had been captured again and there were five Terracons advancing on his position.

"Surrender now Prime, and I may at least allow your spark-mate to live." Galvatron said, but Jack merely grinned slightly as the star-saber in his hand began to glow.

"That is a very generous offer, but I'll pass. No one else is dying today" he said back before swinging his blade at the Predacon, making him jump back with an enraged expression on his face.

"Destroy him!"

The Terracons suddenly launched themselves at Jack who raised the Skyboom shield to block two of them before swiping the star-saber, which sliced one of the soldiers in half as the other just managed to dodge it. Another tried to attack the Prime from behind, but Jack dodged it and with a slice of his glowing blade, cut the soldier in half. The others looked at their dead comrade with wide eyes as the two halves of his body fell to the floor, before looking back at the Prime who grinned at them.

"He had to split." he joked, making the remaining four stare daggers at him before rushing him together. But the Autobot leader was ready as he roundhouse kicked one, then smacked the face of the another with the hilt of the star-saber before elbowing him in the back. Then he charged into the next with the skyboom shield, knocking him to the ground and finally deactivated the shield to upper cut the forth right under his chin, sending him flying onto his back.

Once this was over all four Terracons were standing all around Jack closely, which was what he wanted as his holo star-saber glowed bright blue. Galvatron who had watched the whole thing unfold, suddenly knew what the Prime was up to and shouted at them.

"Get out of the way you fools!"

But before any of the Terracons could reply or move, Jack swung the blade around him in a three hundred and sixty degree slice, decapitating all four Predacon soldiers in one move. First to hit the ground were their heads, which were quickly followed by their bodies as Glavatron stood opened mouthed at the sight before him.

"You were saying?" Jack asked as he gave the Predacon leader a lopsided grin, which made the Lord enraged as he charged at the Prime with his blade ready.

"You will die!"

But Jack charged the star-saber and spun on the spot before unleashing an energy wave which hit Galvatron head on and sent him flying into the nearby wall, knocking the Predacon leader out.

Both Lazerback and Blight stood their speechless as they held Arcee captive, the Femme though was smiling at Jack with an  _'I want to jump you'_  expression. The Prime's cheeks reddened slightly at this but he managed to keep his composure, looking at the two Predacons with a cold and serious expression.

"If you don't want to end up like your leader, you will release her now." the Prime said in a firm tone, making them look at each other nervously while considering their options. But suddenly a maddening cry of anger caught everyone's attention, making them look over to see Galvatron quickly get to his feet next to the damaged wall. His face was that of complete thunder and rage as his eyes fell on the Prime and narrowed, his teeth were gritted and bare.

"You thought I was defeated Prime, but you are sadly mistaken. And now you will pay for your arrogance with your life."

Both Jack and Arcee watched in wide eyed shock as the Predacon leader began to change before their eyes as his beast mode took a hold of him, making him look more muscular and feral. This was also reflected in his armour, which looked more demonic than previously. Galvatron then launched himself at the Prime, his speed and strength had also been increased due to the change as he caught Jack on his chest, scratching through the chest-plate of the Prime Armour with his razor sharp claws. Jack grimaced as the force of this blow knocked him onto his arse, he didn't even get a chance to recover as Galvatron attacked again. This time he backhanded the Autobot leader in the face, spilling blood from his mouth as the inertia from the strike sent him rolling across the ground until he came to a stop on his front, making his star-saber deactivate.

"You don't seem to be doing as well as you were earlier Prime, perhaps they don't make Primes like they used to." Galvatron said with a sarcastic tone as he walked over to Jack, who got onto his hands and knees while fighting the dazed feeling that last hit had given him.

Arcee was watching with a lump in her throat as Galvatron who now stood over her spark-mate then kicked him in the chest, gaining a painful moan from the Prime as he tried to get back to his feet. But the Predacon leader didn't give him the chance as he swiped the back of Jack's armour, slicing through the armour again and cutting through the flesh. Jack grunted as he collapsed to the ground again while Galvatron stood over him and looked down at his claws, which had red blood dripping off them.

"Jack!" the Femme screamed as she knew she had to do something so she tried to break free from Blight's grip, but both Predacons were already on top of that.

"Thats enough wretch!" Blight said in return as his grip around her arms tightened, and Lazerback gave his thoughts on her escape attempt by punching the Femme in the stomach and face, making her grimace as she spat out some blood onto the floor while both enemies laughed.

Meanwhile Galvatron had turned his attention away from Jack for a moment to admire his men's treatment of the Femme, taking pleasure seeing the pain she was going through from being unable to help her spark-mate. Jack though was still lying on the ground and reeling from the wounds that the Predacon Lord had inflicted on him, he managed to turn his head enough to see his lover being hit by one of other Predacons, all the while another one was keeping Arcee from defending herself by holding her arms behind her back.

_'I have to help her!'_  he thought as he tried to roll back onto his front so he could get back to his feet, but Galvatron turned back and looked down at him.

"Oh no you don't." he said before stamping on the Autobot Leader's back, earning a cry of pain from Jack. The Predacon Lord then knelt down and picked him up by his neck and looked him in the eyes.

"Face it Jackson Prime, you are beaten and it is pointless for you to keep fighting." he said while looking the Human Prime up and down with content and disgust.

"It sickens me to see that the Cybertronian species has fallen so far, to become weak and pitiful as the Human race is a fate worse than extinction in my eyes."

"Then….I guess we have a difference in opinion Galvatron." Jack replied as he reactivated his star-saber and used all his strength to swing it up which caught the Predacon on his face, earning a wince from Galvatron who dropped the Prime and covered his face with his hands as he stumbled back. Jack upon landing on his feet, quickly activated his skyboom shield and held his blade before him as he readied himself for the enemy leader's response. But as he looked at Galvatron, the clone then pulled his hands back to reveal a bloody cut that started at the right side of his forehead, ran down over his nose and stopped just halfway over his left cheek. The Predacon Lord wiped the blood from his face until his red eyes locked on to the Prime and narrowed as he scowled at his enemy.

"You fool! I will make you suffer for this." Galvatron roared as his hands tightened up into fists and began to glow with purple energy as he suddenly charged at the Prime, who lifted the skyboom shield to protect himself. But when the Predacon's punch hit the 'shield of the Primes', the force and power of the purple energy that surrounded the fist caused the shield to shatter, sending shards of the golden energy in all directions. Arcee's eyes widened in horror as her lover stumbled back from the hit, but as he tried to raise the star-saber up to defend himself. Galvatron activated his own blade and sliced off Jack's right arm before he could do anything about it. Jack screamed in pain as his arm fell to the ground and the holo star-saber faded to nothing, leaving the Prime completely defenceless as he instinctively raised his other arm to the bloody stump that was now his right arm.

"JACK!" Arcee shouted before Galvatron followed through with another purple glowing punch that hit the Autobot leader squarely in the chest, cracking his armour even more as it sent him crashing into the wall again and falling to the ground in a heap, leaving a crater in the wall behind him. The Predacon Lord then stood over the disabled and defeated Prime and readied his blade to strike, poised to end Jackson Prime's life there and then.

"And now Jackson Prime, I will end your life and the line of Primes will finally come to the end it deserves."

Jack turned his head and looked over to Arcee, as the captive Femme eyes met his. And as time seemed to slow down between the two lovers, no words were said as there was no need since both already knew what the other was thinking at that very moment. Jack did not want to leave his spark-mate, but fate seemed to deem it so. And Arcee was about to lose not only another partner, but the only man she ever 'truly' loved with all her spark. The Prime then looked back up to Galvatron who raised his blade above his head, preparing to strike.

"Time to die Jackson Prime."

 


	13. Chapter 13

Galvatron stood over the fallen Prime, holding his blade over his head with smiling darkly down at his defeated opponent.

"Time to die Jackson Prime." he said as He suddenly swung the blade down upon the Autobot leader, making Arcee lose complete control of her emotions as she watched.

"NO!" she screamed in response, but her eyes suddenly widened as confusion took hold at what happened next. For Galvatron stopped himself, leaving the razor sharp tip of his blade mere centimeters from the Prime's chest. Jack too was confused as he looked up at the Predacon Lord, who had an expression on his face that the Autobot Leader could not read, even with all the pain he was currently in.

Galvatron looked down at the Prime, only a second ago he was ready to end the life of this adversary. But then something had caught his eye, bringing back that feeling that the Predacon Leader had experienced earlier when he found the Covenant of Primus. As he stood over the Prime, his eyes were fixed on the a light that glowed through the cracks of the chest-plate of Jack's Prime -armor.

"Lord Galvatron?" Lazerback asked with a worried tone,while his Leader continued to stare at the chest-plate. Blight then walked over and placed his hand on Galvatron's shoulder which snapped him out of his daze, making him look over to both Men with a confused expression.

"Yes? What is it?"

"My Lord, are you going to kill the Prime?" Blight asked as Galvatron looked back at his blade, which was still pointed directly over the injured Prime's chest.

"No..." he replied, shaking his head.

"...We will take him and the Femme with us as prisoners." he added, making the other two Predcons even more confused.

"But my Lord..." Lazerback said in return, earning an angry stare from Galvatron who gritted his teeth.

"Are you questioning me?"

The sound of his voice unnerved Lazerback immensely, but not so much as it did Blight who had already witnessed what happened to those who questioned their Leader. The former looked back at the latter who shook his head at him, then Lazerback looked back at Galvatron with a regretful expression.

"No Lord Galvatron." he replied with a grovelling tone to his voice, earning a dark grin from the Clone.

"Good, now patch up the Prime's injury and be ready to move."

Both Cons nodded before Galvatron turned his attention to Jack, looking down on the beaten Autobot Leader with a smug expression.

"Because you will only die when I deem it your time, and I doubt either of you will try anything stupid if you know that it will only cause the other to suffer excruciating pain in return."

Blight knelt down next to Jack and began adding medi-gel to what was left of the Prime's arm, but Jack's eyes met Arcee's as both lovers silently acknowledged the predicament they were in as Galvatron waited for them to be ready to move.

Not long later, Garrus and Grunt limped into the area with their weapons ready aimed ahead of them. Both Men looked like they had been through hell, with their armor damaged and their faces covered in bruises with a few cuts thrown in for good measure. The duo looked around the room to find that apart from the two dead Terracons, it was completely empty.

"Damn it, they have been through here already." Garrus said with a annoyed tone.

"Well I bet Jack and Smokescreen had something to do with this." Grunt replied as he gestured toward the two bodies, earning a nod from the Turian.

"Yeah, but where are they now?"

"I don't know, but I just want a rematch with the red/yellow armored foe that bested me." Grunt replied with an angry tone.

"You and me both, but at least we managed to cut the amount of troops he had with him by half." Garrus said back, as the Krogan then moved over to the other exit and looked through to see the Nemesis just aways from their current location.

"They must have gone this way, lets get moving so we can catch up."

The Turian sniper nodded in return before making his way to join his friend at the exit, when something caught his eye.

"What the hell?" he said aloud as his eyes widened at the site before him.

"What is it?" Grunt asked as he left the exit and walked up to his Turian teammate, who was just looking at the ground with a disbelieving stare. The Krogan looked down at what had Garrus's attention and his eyes widened too in response.

"It can't be...?

On the floor in front of them was a puddle of blood and in its center was a severed right arm, the armor it was in-cased in was identifiable by the three colored stripes running down the arm, two silver on both sides of a large red main stripe.

"That's Jack's arm!" Garrus exclaimed in shock of the sight in front of him, because despite seeing it with his own eyes, he still could not believe it.

"But that doesn't mean that Jack's...you know." Grunt sheepishly added, since he could tell by the Turian's expression what he was currently thinking at this moment.

"I know, for one there is no body..." Garrus replied as he continued to stare at the appendage, losing himself to the terrible thoughts for his friend that were now plaguing his mind since laying eyes on it. But he was brought out of his stupor, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Lets go Garrus, we may still have a chance of catching up to them." Grunt said, gaining the Turian's attention.

"And give them hell, especially if our friends have been..." he said before being cut off by the Krogan, who Gave him an encouraging smile.

"Exactly." Garrus said back in a determined tone and nodded in return and then both Autobots made their way outside, just in time to see the two giant Dragons fly overhead towards the Nemesis.

"Looks like we are heading in the right direction then." Grunt said as they saw what looked like a lot of activity around the giant dreadnought, when suddenly their com links activated.

"They are pulling back, the enemy is retreating." an unknown Autobot said over the link, before another voice spoke.

"All Autobot forces, this is Warpath, Jackson Prime is not answering his com-link, so I am taking temporary command. The enemy are regrouping at the Nemesis launch site, move in and take them down. We can not them get their hands on that ship."

Garrus and Grunt looked at each other as the message came to an end.

"Looks like we..." the Krogan began to say before a sound caught their attention.

"ugh,mmm...ugh." came a voice from nearby.

"Did you hear that?" Garrus asked, earning a nod from his friend.

"Yeah, it came from over there." he said as the pair began walking over in the direction that Grunt had pointed to, until they came to a pile of rubble. Both looked around around in confusion, as there was no sign of what had made that noise.

"I swore that sound was coming from over he..." Garrus started to say when he was interrupted again.

"Ugh...ugh,.." came the voice again as the pile of debris began to move slightly as a hand appeared from under it.

"There! Someone is under the rubble." Grunt said as he began to pick up and clear the rubble, Garrus quickly joining in as they unearthed a person from under it. Their eyes widened and as smiles appeared on their faces.

"SMOKESCREEN!" Garrus exclaimed as they pulled out the White/Blue and Red armored Bot, who was semi-conscious and visibly injured, but thankfully still alive.

"Smokescreen, you alright. Can you hear me?" Garrus said as the injured Autobot lay there in front of them, but all they got from him was...

"...ugh..mmm, ugh."

Grunt then placed his hand on the Turian's shoulder, gaining his attention.

"Let me try Garrus?"

His friend looked at him blankly but nodded, moving out of the way so that the Krogan could get closer. Then he did something that completely surprised the Turian and slapped the Bot's face, making Smokescreen wake up fully and stare at the pair.

"What in the Allspark!" he said in an exasperated tone as Garrus looked over to Grunt with a surprised expression.

"What was that?" he asked, but the Krogan simply smiled.

"I just woke him up, plus it felt good." he answered before looking back down at Smokescreen.

"Can you move?" Garrus asked as the Bot grimaced a little while he sat up.

"Yeah, but my whole body feels like it just got trampled on by the Dinobots." the younger Autobot replied as he slowly got to his feet.

"Well considering how you look, I can believe it. Those enemies sure do pack a punch." Garrus said, as Smokescreen stood up beside both men.

"Their called Predacons."

"Predacons? Never heard of them." Grunt replied with a blank expression, earning a questioning look from the Bot before he shook his head.

"Look, never mind. We can go over the details later..." he said before noticing that there was just the Krogan and Turian standing with him.

"Where is Jack and Arcee?"

Garrus's expression faulted as he looked to the ground, this did not go unnoticed by Smokescreen who looked directly at him.

"What's happened? Don't tell me their..." he started to say when Grunt cut in.

"No, we found no bodies back there, just Jack's arm." the Krogan said with the usual amount of compassion he had...which was none.

"By the Allspark, so where were you heading to when you found me?" the Bot questioned, Garrus was about to answer when suddenly out of nowhere a squadron of Aerialbot fighters flew low overhead. This caught the trio's attention as they looked at the fighters as they flew toward the battle engulfing the area around the Nemesis, as explosions could be seen and continuous gunfire could be heard .

"We are heading that way." Garrus finished before Smokescreen equipped the pistol he had on his utility belt.

"What are we waiting for then ,lets go."

The others nodded in return, then the trio began moving quickly towards the massive black ship just ahead of them.

"By the way Garrus, who did that to your face? I mean I would ask Grunt, but his face looks the same whether he has fought or not." Smokescreen suddenly asked, earning an annoyed growl from the Krogan as they moved through the battlefield.

About fifteen minutes later, the three Autobots arrived at the Nemesis launch site. But the battle was over before it really had a chance to start and the trio could only guess that was because of Predaking and Grimwing, who had destroyed what Autobot forces had arrived there in a matter of minutes. The Turian, Krogan and bot all took cover behind the charred husk of an Aerialbot fighter, before Garrus used his sniper rifle to scope the area.

"I can't believe I am going to ask this, considering what we saw on our way over here. But how does it look over there?" Smokescreen sheepishly asked, making the Turian shake his head in return.

"So much for the counter attack, those Predacons have the area completely under their control. Our forces had no chance against those beasts of theirs."

Grunt growled lowly in return before saying his piece.

"Those beasts are tougher than any Thresher-Maw, that's for sure."

Smokescreen nodded as he looked up at the two winged monsters who flew over head with the Predacon fighters alongside them.

"That is what the Predacons really looked like, back when they roamed Cybertron during what you would call 'Prehistoric times'."

"So they are just like Earth's Dinosaurs?" Garrus replied.

"And Tuchanka's Thresher-Maws?" the Krogan added, earning looks from both his friends.

"Grunt, you still have Thresher-Maws now." the Turian replied bluntly, making the Krogan look back with a slight smile.

"Yeah, but the prehistoric ones were much bigger."

"I guess, but either way I am just going off what I learnt from the historic archives on Cybertron...during the war." Smokescreen replied as they kept their eyes on what was happening just ahead of them, when suddenly there was a lot of movement near the Nemesis's ventral shuttle bay as a large contingent of Terracons arrived on the scene.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Blight stood stood on the lowered ramp of the shuttlebay with a small group of Terracons and another Predacon, one in yellow and purple armour. The two of them watched as another large contingent of troops arrived at the Nemesis and stopped before then.

"And I think that it is it for any of our troops arriving here by foot Scorponok." Blight said to his comrade who nodded in agreement.

"I think your right, though I would prefer not to leave the others out there. But we wont be able to hold this location forever."

"I would not worry about such details Scorponok, our Lord already has something planned to ensure our brethren make it safely aboard. It is one of the reasons he chose this ship as a target of interest." the other Predacon replied before looking behind him at both Arcee and Jack who were on their knees and surrounded by Terracons.

"The quicker this ship is taken, the faster we can get these two into the brig." he added, gaining a knowing look from Scorponok.

"Well Lord Galvatron and Laserback did take half of my troops with them to secure the CIC and the Engineering decks, I am sure we will hear something soon."

The two Predacons then looked back towards the horizon and the image of a beaten and broken city. New Iacon looked less like the capital of the Federation, but more like the city of London after the Reaper invasion that the Cons read about on the Icarus's databanks.

"We sure did a number to this city didn't we?" Scorponok said as both smiled and looked down at Jack, who merely looked at the ground as blood dripped ever so slowly from the dressing on the stump that was once his arm.

"You have nothing to say about this 'Prime'?" Blight asked with a sarcastic tone in his voice.

"Be careful, the Prime might hit you with that stump of his." Scorponok laughed in a similar tone. But both the Autobot Leader and his Spark-mate remained quiet, not wanting to give the Predacons the pleasure of reacting to their goading. But the two lieutenants soon stopped when one of the Terracons that were watching the perimeter turned to them.

"Sir, I can see movement just ahead of us. Behind the wreckage of that fighter over there."

Scorponok then equipped his sniper rifle and looked through it's scope, bringing the image into sharp focus.

"Are you sure soldier, because I can..." he started to reply before noticing a reflection of light off what appeared to be a similar sniper rifle scope.

"More Autobots! Fire on that location now!" he shouted as he fired three shots that impacted on the hull of the wreckage, making the Turian there get right behind cover. The rest of the Terracons followed suit and fired on the area, earning a similar reaction from the three Autobots.

Blight took cover behind the wall of the shuttle bay as both Jack and Arcee looked towards the wreckage, hope appearing on their faces. But this had not gone unnoticed by the Predacon who looked down at them with content.

" I would not hold on to hope of your friends rescuing you now." he said before tapping the com-link in his ear.

"Lord Galvatron, we have more Autobots attacking the ship."

"Keep them at bay for a little longer while we are prepping for launch." the Predacon Leader replied as he ended the link, earning a nod from Blight who looked back to the Terracons.

"Keep the pressure on those Autobots, we will be leaving soon."

He then looked at the four soldiers surrounding their prisoners.

"Take these two to the brig now."

So the Terracons acknowledged him and pulled Jack and Acree to their feet before moving out of the shuttle bay and further into the Nemesis's interior.

From their cover behind the fighter wreckage, Garrus blew the head off one of the Terracons defending the shuttle bay's extended ramp and spotted two familar people who were being escorted from the battle.

"They do have Arcee and Jack." he exclaimed, gaining the attention of both Smokescreen and Grunt.

"You sure?" the Bot asked as he killed another enemy soldier, before looking over to Garrus and noticing him nodding in return.

"I just saw them being escorted away from the battle and further into the ship."

"Well we have to get them then, thats all there is to it." Smokescreen replied before taking a few shots at the Terracons, killing two of them while the others kept the pressure up by firing constantly at their cover.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Grunt asked after just narrowly missing a bullet to the face as he turned to look at the younger Bot, his face looked like thunder.

"They have us pinned down here, we can't make a move without it ending in suicide for us."

This took both Garrus and Smokescreen by surprise, since Grunt would usually be first in line for such an action. But the Turian knew that on this occasion he was right, so he tapped his com-link.

"This is Garrus Vakarian to any Autobot forces in range, the enemy are taking control of the Nemesis and have Jackson Prime and Arcee among them. My team have a chance of recovering the pair, but are currently being pinned down by enemy fire. Are there any Autobots who could help?"

After a moment or two, with both the bot and Krogan firing back at the enemy before taking cover again. Garrus received an answer.

"This is Warpath, Garrus we are on route as we speak. ETA five minutes."

But suddenly a deep humming noise could be heard from the Nemesis's engines, making the Turian's eyes widen in response.

"To late, they are preparing to launch."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

In the Nemesis's CIC, Galvatron and his Terracons had just taken control of the room, leaving the Autobot corpse on the floor while the soldiers manned each station. The Predacon leader himself stood at the command terminal that was on a catwalk that was raised above the rest of the CIC, giving a good view of the entire room.

"Status report?" he said in a commanding tone, earning the attention of his men.

"All stations manned Lord Galvatron, we have had no trouble accessing the ship's systems." one of the Terracons replied while looking up at his master.

"Excellent work." Galvatron replied as his attention was caught by a a holo-screen appearing before him, showing the ship's engines activating.

"Lord Galvatron, engine room is now under our control and we are prepping the ship's engines up now." Lazerback then reported through the Predacon leader's com-link.

"Very well, how long until the Space-bridge generator is ready for use?"

"It is charging up now my Lord, but in the meantime it's ground-bridge function is fully operational since it does not require the same level of power." the Predacon replied, making Galvatron smile in return.

"That's good Lazerback, keep me apprised of any further developments."

The Predacon Lord then looked down at one of his men.

"Activate the Ground-bridge at areas where our troops are still fighting, we need to evacuate all our remaining ground-forces to this ship immediately."

"Yes Lord Galvatron." the Terracon replied before typing in the commands into his holo-interface, meanwhile Galvatron set his com-link to broadcast mode.

"This is your Lord and Master speaking, I want all Predacon forces to fall back to the Nemesis. Fighters, you will rejoin your respective cruisers and they will rendezvous with the Nemesis in orbit. Our ground forces are to use the Ground-bridge vortexes that will appear before you momentarily, these will bring you aboard our new flagship."

After shutting down the com-link, the Predacon Leader turned to another of his Terracons below him.

"Activate the Ground-bridge and bring our troops home."

"Yes sir." the soldier replied as he worked the holo-interface before him.

"...And open up the top cargo bay for Predaking and Grimwing." Galvatron added.

Meanwhile all across the battlefield that only hours earlier used to be the Federation Capital, ground-bridge vortexes opened and closed one after the other. Opening just long enough for the Terracons still fighting to retreat through, leaving the remaining Autobot forces to stand in the middle of their destroyed city and wonder what it all was for. The Predacon star-fighters broke off their dogfights with the Aerialbots, docking with the nearest cruisers that were still operational and they then made for high orbit.

Back on board the Nemesis, one of the Terracons looked up at the Perdacon Lord as he admired the view he from his location, as he looked out of the large canopy covering the very front of the CIC.

"My Lord, our forces are pulling back as you wanted. And Lazerback reports that we can continue to ground-bridge our remaining troops while we are leaving."

Galvatron smiled at comment as he turned and looked down at said Terracon.

"Very well, call in the rest of the troops protecting the shuttle bay and take us into space,..."

The Terracon nodded in return and then focused on his station's holo-interface.

"...And have our prisoners brought to me too."

On the ground Garrus, Smokescreen and Grunt were still stuck behind the wreckage of the Aerialbot fighter, as the Terracons continued to bombard them with weapons fire.

"This is ridiculous, we have to make a push for the shuttle bay or else we will lose Jack and Arcee." the Turian said in both an angry yet anxious tone, while the other two fired back into the mass grouping of enemies, killing two of them as they did.

"Wait a second, they are falling back." Grunt observed as they all looked to see the Predacon soldiers backing up on to the shuttle bay, while laying covering fire on the Autobots position.

"Then we go right now, follow me!" Smokescreen roared, surprising his friends as he ran around the wreck and stormed at the Terracons with his weapon blazing. The others followed suit as he shot dead three Terracons and made it onto the shuttle bay's ramp as it began to lift off the ground. The bot then stormed towards the interior of the ship but in his reckless and desperate actions, he failed to notice that the remaining Terracons had stopped firing at him.

And before he had a chance to wonder why, he suddenly ran into a powerful energy field which knocked him flying off the ramp and back down to the floor where his Turian and Krogan friends joined him. They looked up at the Nemesis which had risen off the ground and saw the Terracons laughing and waving back sarcastically just before the ramp closed and sealed off the shuttle bay from the outside.

"Ugh, what was that?" Smokescreen asked as he sat up and held his head as the mother of all migraines began to ache.

"You were hit by the Nemesis's new energy shield that protects the shuttle bay, lucky you weren't fried by it."

"Very lucky, His armor took the brunt of it." Grunt added as they looked at the bot's burn't white/blue and red armor. But before anything else could be said, the trio's attention was caught by the sight of the Nemesis as it had ascended high above them and flew away from them at sub-light speeds with the two metallic dragons landing on it's roof as it moved.

"Scrap..." Garrus then said with disappointment in his voice, while both Smokescreen and Grunt watched with similar expressions.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

As the Nemesis began to climb through the Earth's atmosphere, Galvatron was still overlooking everything from his spot in the CIC. The doors behind then suddenly opened as Jackson Prime and Arcee were escorted into the room and led up the catwalk to the Predacon Leader who smiled darkly at how defeated the two Autobots looked.

The Prime looked like he had been battered as he was limping along, while all that was left of his right arm was a stump that had been bandaged up, but that was already becoming a deep shade of crimson as the wound had yet to be properly healed yet. His femme meanwhile looked no better as she had her arm round the Autobot leader and helped him to walk, her face was one of deep concern and fear for her spark-mate as she never took her eyes off him.

"Ah, glad to see the two of you could make it. I promise not to keep you from the infirmary too long Prime, since I would hate to see you bleed over the floor of my new battleship." Galvatron said in sarcastic tone, earning looks of pure loathing and content from the pair.

"You wont...get away with...this Galvatron." Jack said in between his breathes, which had started to get heavy due to his injuries. But the Predacon Lord merely looked down at his prisoner and smiled.

"Oh but I already have, since the City that you Autobots hold so dear is now nothing more than a smoking crater. Also your forces are stretched out all over the galaxy, with no means to communicate to each other. We Predacons have no such restrictions, so we will take advantage of the situation that we have created and ensure that the rest of the galaxy trembles at the very mention of our name."

"My Lord, we are free of the planet's atmosphere and the rest of the fleet has joined us." the Terracon piloting the Nemesis then stated, earning his Leader's attention.

"Very good.." Galvatron replied as he looked out of the canopy to see that the star-field surrounded them, and multiple Predacon cruisers were now taking up formation around his ship.

"Sir, Six-shot requests permission to land." another Terracon said, gaining a nod from Galvatron.

"Granted, and have him come straight here." he replied before looking back out of the CIC's canopy, and noticing a ship ahead of them that certainly wasn't one of their own.

"We have an Autobot cruiser directly in front of us. it is the Ultra Magnus." the pilot reported as Galvatron, Jack and Arcee watched.

"It is heavily damaged, but it's weapons are still active. Should I signal our cruisers to take it out?" he said, making his leader shake his head on return.

"No, I wish to see what the Nemesis is capable of. Power up our weapons and target that ship." he said in a commanding tone, making his Terracons work frantically At their posts.

"Weapons armed and target locked." one then said from his post.

"Fire!"

The Nemesis then fired a barrage of red glowing torpedoes at the Ultra Magnus, which tried to evade them whilst using it's thrusters. But several of the torpedoes impacted on it's engineering section, crippling the ship and causing it to drift out of it's way.

"Finish them off." the Predacon leader then added as an evil grin grew on his face, but just as the Terracon at Tactical prepared to launch one last spread of torpedoes at the Autobot ship. Suddenly his fellow soldier then called out.

"Space-bridge vortex opening directly in front of us." he said as a green blip appeared on his holo-display.

"What?" Galvatron shouted back as everyone looked out of the canopy to see the said green vortex hovering in the void ahead of them. Suddenly a smaller frigate flew out of the vortex and towards the Nemesis.

"It's IFF is coming up..." said one of the Terracons as he looked at his holo-screen.

"...it is the Autobot frigate 'Normandy'."

Jack looked out at the ship as his eyes widened at mention of that name, which did not go unnoticed by Arcee.

"Jack?"

"Orion is on that ship Arcee." the Prime said, before Galvatron gained both Autobots attention with his next action.

"Shoot that ship down, I want it out of our path now."

A look of pure horror then appeared on the parents faces as it dawned on them what was about to happen.

_'No!'_  Jack and Arcee both thought as the Terracon began targeting their son's vessel.

At that exact time in the cockpit of the Normandy, Rodimus and Orion stood behind Jetstorm as he piloted their ship. Surprised expressions were written on their faces as they saw the ships directly between them and Earth.

"Looks like your hunch was correct Commander, I have a dozen enemy ships leaving Earth as we speak." the pilot said as he read the data appearing on his sensor screen, then Orion pointed his hand to the massive black ship that was amongst them.

"What is that?"

Rodimus's eyes widened as he recognized the vessel.

"That's the Nemesis, but it shouldn't up and running yet."

Suddenly an alarm began blaring around them and Jetstorm knew exactly what it meant.

"The Nemesis is targeting us." he exclaimed.

"Take evasive action!" Rodimus ordered, making the Autobot pilot type at his holo-station frantically as veered the Normandy starboard, but the newly christened Predacon battleship fired several spreads of torpedoes and cannon fire at the frigate. Several missed and that was thanks to Jetstorm's quick manoeuvres, but the rest of them hit the ship along it's hull which taxed the shields until the final spread impacted on the Normandy's port engine wing. There was suddenly and explosion that shook the entire ship, knocking any crew members not seated to the ground as it's wing and the entire port engine broke off, causing the ship to go into an out of control spin.

"Damage Report!" Rodimus shouted over the sounds of panic as he and Orion picked themselves up from the floor, the younger bot looked back towards the CIC and saw the crew fighting the fires that had been caused by the damage that their ship had just taken in the attack.

"We've lost the port engine, I am trying to correct our course with thrusters. Our shield strength is down to seventeen percent, I doubt we could survive another hit like that." the Pilot replied while studing the red flashing areas of the ship schematics on his holo-screen.

"Damn it!" he then cursed while clenching his fist and slamming it on the arm rest of his chair, alarming both Bots behind him.

"What's wrong Jetstorm?" Orion asked as smoke filled the air from the fires behind them.

"We've just lost power to the other engines, we are completely dead in the water."

The three bots then looked at each other as it dawned on them what might happen next, before looking out of the canopy to see the Nemesis directly in front of them, blocking out the sun with it's jet black hull, the only light glowing from the weapon ports as they were aimed at them.

Galvatron was looking out at the critically damaged Autobot ship as it drifted before his battleship, while his crew of Terracons continued to work the Nemesis's systems around him.

"What is the condition of the Normandy?" he asked as he turned round and noticed the looks of pure horror on Jack and Arcee's faces, as they stood there and looked out at the frigate.

"My Lord, the Normandy has suffered considerable damage. It is no longer a threat to us." the Terracon on the station to his lower left replied, making the Predacon Leader smile darkly as his eyes met those of his prisoners.

"Just because the vessel is no longer a threat, that does not mean I will leave it be." he said back while keeping his attention on the two Autobots, taking note of the evolving looks of despair on their faces.

"No.." Arcee whispered as Jackson Prime took a step forward toward Galvatron, making both Terracons that stood guard over them point their rifles at him.

"Galvatron, I ask you…..spare that vessel. Haven't enough people died today…on both sides?"

The Predacon Lord looked at the Prime, his red eyes narrowing while his counterpart stood firm before him.

"Why? What is so important about this vessel? You didn't speak a word when we disabled the other Autobot ship earlier, so that leaves me curious to this sudden change in your attitude."

Jack broke contact with Galvatron's eyes as he looked down to the ground, He could not come out and say that his son was on board that ship. If he knew the truth, the Predacon may just destroy the Normandy to cause further pain to both him and Arcee.

"Please, just let the ship be." Jack said back in a pleading like tone while holding his arms out to his sides, earning a devilish grin from Galvatron.

"What is this? Is the great Jackson Prime, Leader of the Autobots begging me not to end the lives of some of his precious Autobots." he laughed before looking down at Jack, his shadow being cast upon the Prime as he stood before him.

"Well I am afraid that if you really want me to leave this ship alone, then you will have to get on your knees and plead to me to do so."

The Autobot Leader looked back at Arcee, who merely nodded in return. For the Femme knew that even if this diminished themselves in the eyes of their enemies, it would be a small price to pay if it meant protecting that which was most precious to them.

So Jack turned back to Galvatron and while keeping his eyes to the ground, began to get down on to his knees. But before he could do so, the Predacon Leader laughed out loud and kicked the Prime in the chest, sending him onto his back.

"Jack!" Arcee exclaimed as she rushed to her partner's side as Gavlatron towered before them both, his sharp teeth bared as he smiled darkly at them both.

"Pitiful, how weak and pathetic the line of Primes has become. You are a disgrace Jackson Prime, and to answer your question, I will not spare the ship…." the Predacon Leader spat before turning his back on both prisoners and looking out at the crippled Normandy.

"…take them away, and target all weapons on the Normandy." he commanded to his crew, but as both Autobots were about to react, they were suddenly grabbed and pulled to their feet by the two Terracon guards.

"Galvatron!" Jack called out in a desperate plea, but the Predacon Leader ignored him and kept his attention on the soon to be destroyed enemy ship beyond his canopy.

"The Normandy is targeted my Lord." the Terracon manning the weapons station reported as the door the two Autobot prisoners were dragged off the bridge.

"Prepare to fir..." Galvatron began to say before his com-link beeped, cutting him off mid sentence. So he tapped his ear piece to responde.

"What is it?"

"We have the Space-bridge up and running my Lord, and all troops have been brought aboard via the Ground-bridge. So we can leave at your convenience." Lazerback replied, earning a sigh from the Predacon leader.

"Very well Lazerback and well done." he said back before looking at the Terracon manning the helm.

"Belay my last order and target our Space-bridge for Cybertron."

"Yes my Lord." the soldier replied as Galvatron watched the Normandy as it drifted past.

"But my Lord, I thought we were going to destroy that ship?" another Terracon asked, gaining an angry stare from the Predacon Leader.

"You are not questioning me are you, surely you have heard what happens to those that do?"

The soldier gulped but kept his gaze fixed on his Leader as he stood at his station.

"...Of course not Lord Galvatron, but you told the two Autobots that we would destroy the ship. I am just confused to how this works...my Lord."

Galvatron flashed a slight smile towards the soldier, before looking back out at the black void beyond the CIC canopy.

"Well they both seemed very concerned about that vessel or perhaps it was someone who was on board, so if they were to believe that the Normandy had been destroyed then it would only make them suffer more grief and despair. And that would make them even less likely to cause us any trouble as our prisoners, so that is what I will let them believe." he said back, earning a smile from the Terracon.

"You are most wise my Lord."

"Indeed..." The Predacon Leader replied as he looked down to the soldier manning the communication station.

"Inform the fleet to meet us at Cybertron." he then said, earning a nod from the Terracon. Galvatron then looked back to the helmsman.

"Take us home."

The Terracon manning the helm then programmed the coordinates into his holo-interface and suddenly a bright green vortex opened up before the Nemesis which then flew into it, as the rest of the Predacon fleet carried on to the Sol system's edge so that they could use the space-bridge located there, leaving the Federation in chaos as they wonder how on earth this possibly could have happened.

 


	14. Chapter 14

The fires were finally snuffed out in the Normandy's CIC as the crew began work on trying to repair what they could of their ship, while in the cockpit Rodimus, Orion and Jet-storm were all looking at the holo-screen which was showing the damage that the vessel had sustained. They had only twenty minutes earlier witnessed the Nemesis leave the system via its own Space-bridge vortex, even though the battle-ship had them dead to rights.

"I still don't know why they had left us alone like that, we were completely disabled and just to easy a target to leave alone, and yet they just just upped and left." Jet-storm said with a confused tone, while he waved through the screens of damage reports flooding his holo-interface.

"Well I am more concerned with who 'they' are and what they did to Earth before we arrived." Orion said back, earning a nod from Rodimus as he stood beside them and looked up from another holo-screen on his holo-tool.

"Orion has a point, but we are currently suffering a communications blackout due to our network having been disabled. So all we can so is speculate, but that will only be detrimental to the crew's ability to repair the Normandy. So I ask that we refrain from doing so, at least until we are back on the move." the Commander said back, gaining a nod from both his subordinates.

"Well no offence Commander but unless we can get access to a dry-dock, this damage will not get repaired. There is only so much we can do, especially since we lost half of our engineering crew during the attack." Jet-storm replied as he changed his screen back to the helm controls.

"I know, but I would have the crew focus on the task at hand. It will keep everyone from losing themselves to fear and panic. Anyway, how are the thrusters handling for you?" Rodimus said back as the pilot typed on his holo-interface.

"I am managing to keep us from drifting too much."

"Wait, what's that over there?" Orion said, cutting the others off as he pointed out of the canopy at a far off object that was closing in on them.

"Sensors are still down, so your guess is as good as mine at this point." Jetstorm replied while keeping his eyes on said object.

"But its too small to be a cruiser, maybe its a shuttle-craft." he added.

"Well it is coming from the direction of Earth, let's see if we can hail them on the short range communications, I mean that isn't connected to the network is it." Rodimus said as he looked at his pilot.

"Yes, thats right. Okay I am activating the com sub-link now." Jet-storm replied as he used his holo-interface, and then a fuzzy sounding hiss came through the cockpit's speakers before a faint voice was heard speaking.

"...Normandy, this is Swerve on board shuttle three of the Ultra Magnus. Please respond?"

"Can you...?" Rodimus instantly said to his pilot, who was already typing away at his station.

"Way ahead of you Commander." Jetstorm replied as he tapped on last button.

"...And your on."

"This is Commander Rodimus of the Normandy, we read you Swerve." the Leader said before waiting for a reply through the static coming through the speakers.

"...thank the Allspark, we feared the worst after our sensors picked up your ship and the damage it had suffered." the Autobot responded as the shuttle came in closer to the frigate.

"We have a repair team on board if you require assistance." he added.

"That would be greatly appreciated Swerve, we will open up our shuttle bay and you can come on in." Rodimus replied.

"Will do but I am afraid it will be a quick drop, my main orders are to get you back to Earth as quickly as possible. Things are falling apart back there." Swerve said back, earning a confused expression from all three Bots in the cockpit.

"Why, what exactly has happened?" the Commander asked.

"I can brief you on the way there, but lets just say that a whole lot of shit has hit the fan today...if you will excuse my french." Swerve replied.

"Consider it excused, I will be waiting for you in the shuttle bay with my team then." Rodimus responded as he looked over to Orion and gestured him to get the others.

"Who is on your team? Because there is limited room on the shuttle." came the reply from the speakers, making Orion stop and look back as curiosity took hold.

"I will have with me, Shen Vakarian, Nightracer, my XO Orion Darby and our guest Dr. Liara T'Soni."

"Did you say Darby?" Swerve asked, making Rodimus look back at his XO with a confused expression.

"Yes I did." he said back before it was followed by silence for a long moment.

"...okay, we can make room for them, especially Darby." Swerve replied suddenly as the shuttle flew past the cockpit's canopy.

"We will be ready to dock in just over a minute." he added, earning a nod from Rodimus.

"Very well, we are on our way now, Rodimus out."

The Commander then looked at Orion.

"Go get the others and meet me in the shuttle bay."

The younger Bot nodded and turned away before heading towards the elevator at the back of the CIC, though he could not hide the confusion on his face as he moved. Rodimus then looked back at Jetstorm.

"You are in command while Orion and I are off ship, and I want you to oversee the repairs. Make sure the ship is at least capable of getting back to Earth orbit."

"Yes sir." Jet-storm replied as the Commander then turned and walked away, leaving the pilot on his own in the cockpit.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Galvatron could definitely get used to this, from his position standing on the catwalk that stretched over the length of the CIC, he had a perfect view of everyone that worked there. It was far better than a chair in the center of the room, like the bridge aboard the Icarus. The Predacon leader had been looking through the ship's history on it's database, and while the original Nemesis had to be refitted so it could be piloted by Humans. This version of the former Decepticon battleship was built to be used by them from the start, they just decided to keep everything looking the same but just somewhat more scaled down.

Galvatron was so caught up with his admiring of the ship, he did not hear footsteps approaching behind him.

" _Ah, I see you have been admiring my ship._ " a voice spoke, one that had a grating effect on the Predacon Lord who sighed and hung his shoulders in response as Megatron stood beside him.

"I _t amuses me how you keep trying to convince yourself that you are not simply a clone of myself, yet here you are...standing on a poor imitation of my very warship._ "

Galvatron felt his spark beginning to burn again as his anger started to build. But if Megatron had noticed this as his clone stood there, grinding his teeth and clenching his hands into fists tightly, then he chose to ignore it and continue.

" _So you still believe that, am I correct?_ " the Decepticon leader asked as Galvatron simply looked ahead.

"I _f so then why did you steal this ship, was it to prove something. I believe that you actually wish you were me and all this grand talk and posturing is just your way of denying the truth, that you are just the worthless clone that should have stayed locked up on Cybertron for the rest of time._ "

That was it for Galvatron who finally let his blood boil, turning to his hallucination in the blink of an eye. His red eyes narrowed and betrayed none of the anger he was feeling at this very moment for the ghost of someone long dead. But again, Megatron's expression was one of barely any interest as he looked back at his doppelganger.

" _What? Am I supposed to be intimidated by that stare, because I have seen far more intimidating looks from Knockout...and he wasn't intimidating._ "

The Predacon Leader ignored the jibe and continued to stare as he gritted his teeth again.

"I swear that one day I will find the spot in here that your ghost resides..." he said while pointing to his temple.

"...And snuff it out." the Clone added, earning a smug grin from the Decepticon.

"I _f you could, then you would have by now. You will have to face facts that you are me, the quicker you figure that out the better._ "

Megatron then shoved the Clone with his shoulder as he walked passed him, earning a growl from Galvatron who then looked back to see that the hallucination had disappeared. So the Predacon Leader quickly looked around to see if anyone had noticed this, but all the Terracons were still focused on their tasks.

' _How long will I have to endure this madness?'_  he thought as he tried to calm down before hearing footsteps behind him, making the clone's temper go off the charts and he spun around and grabbed the person by the neck, lifting him off the ground.

"...Lord Galvatron...it's me...Six-shot!"

But the Predacon Lord could not hear him due to the rd red haze that was currently clouding his judgement.

"Lord Galvatron!" one of the Terracons shouted which cut through all the rage flowing inside Galvatron who snapped out of it and dropped his Lieutenant back on to his feet. Six-shot looked around at the other Terracons, every one of them had the same unsure expression that he did as they stared at their master.

"My Lord, what was that?" the Predacon Pilot asked in a rather frank way, as everyone watched. Galvatron rubbed his face with his hands as he tried to calm down.

"I...I must be fatigued." he said in weary tone while pulling his hands away, with his face slowly returning to its usual commanding and composed look.

"Well, why don't you take a moment for yourself and rest? You haven't done so since before the attack on New Iacon." Six-shot asked, earning a nod from Galvatron.

"Yes, I think I will. Take command in my absence, but keep me apprised with all that happens."

"Of course my Lord." the Lieutenant replied as the Predacon Leader walked past him.

"I do have some questions?" the Pilot added with a curious tone.

"Can they wait for the time being?" Galvatron replied without even looking back at his Lieutenant.

"Yes, I suppose they can."Six-shot answered as his Lord left the room, and then the Predacon turned around and noticed that all the Terracons had been watching their Master and glared back at them.

"Don't you have work to do? Get back to it!" he spat, making the minions almost jump out of their skin as they rushed back to work, earning a smile from the Predacon. But as he stood there on the catwalk, he looked back towards the CIC's entrance.

' _What is going on with him?_ ' he thought, this wasn't the first time that Galvatron had done something strange that had caught everyone's attention. And something told Six-shot that it would not be the last, but for the time being he should focus on keeping the others in line during their Lord's absence. So he turned back round and looked out at the planet Cybertron that they were now orbiting.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

It was so quiet on the shuttle as it flew from the Normandy to what was left of New Iacon, that you could hear a pin drop as every member of Rodimus's team dwelled on the briefing that Swerve had just given them. They had been told that an enemy force that called themselves 'Predacons' had launched a surprise attack on New Iacon while it was in the middle of the Anniversary celebrations, but that was the only information they were being told right now. And that knowledge or lack of details was still no easier to take in even as the shuttle began passing through the clouds as the ruined capital of the Federation was revealed to them.

"By the Allspark, I have never seen so much destruction." Nightracer said while staring out of the window at the heavily damaged and collapsed buildings below, which made the City barely recognizable to what the Femme remembered it to be like.

"I have unfortunately..." Rodimus said as he sat next to her.

"...Back when I was a teenager and the Reapers attacked the colony where I was living with my father, never thought I would live to see this all over again." he added as Orion and Shen sat opposite them, a confused expression on the young Darby's face as scores of questions flooded his thoughts due to the revelation that his accompanying them was a priority. He was as stunned as everyone else to hear about the attack, even more so to see the aftermath. But he could not help but wonder why 'he' had to among them when they landed.

Liara was seated by herself on the starboard side of the shuttle, but still was facing the others. And through the entire journey from the Normandy really wasn't that long, she had found herself staring at Orion. Well maybe staring is a little strong a word to use, but she was certainly taking a few sly glances every now and then. She could see that something was bothering him, and wished that there was something she could do to help him. but she still felt somewhat like an outsider at this point, despite how much Orion had made her feel comfortable aboard the Normandy. The Asari was suddenly snapped out of her own thoughts when Rodimus spoke.

"Well you said we would get a brief of everything that happened Swerve, but all you have told us is that Earth has been attacked and who it was."

"Forgive me Commander, but we are still in the middle of debriefing those who were witness to the events on the ground." the red and white armored Autobot replied as he stood in the doorway to the shuttle's cockpit, placing his hand to his com-link as he spoke.

"...We are giving you the information as we get it."

It was at this moment that Orion decided to speak up and bring his questions to light. Because if there was one thing he didn't like, it was intentionally being kept in the dark.

"Excuse me Swerve, but why did you insist that I was brought along. I mean you did make that part really clear, but you haven't said anything since."

Everyone looked at the Bot in surprise, but Swerve's expression was one of quiet panic.

"I am sorry Orion, but I cannot say any more on that until we have landed." he said, but Rodimus had noticed the young Darby's expression.

"I don't think so Swerve, you will tell Orion now."

The Autobot looked completely out of his depth as he stood there in the doorway with everyone staring at him.

"I am sorry but I am under orders from Warpath." he said with an unsure tone in his voice, but this still was not going to cut it with Rodimus who glared at him.

"As second in command of the Autobots, I am ordering you to tell us what has happened. And why is Warpath giving commands when Jackson Prime is down there?"

Swerve just kept quiet and looked down to the ground with the mention of the Prime's name and suddenly the whole shuttle went quiet too, as it dawned on everyone that something terrible had happened. Orion's eyes widened as the shock took a hold of him, feeling like his heart was in his throat as the worst case scenario popped into his thoughts.

"Is...is my Father...dead?" the young Bot asked with a shaken like tone to his voice.

"No, he is alive but according to witnesses he had his arm sliced off and was taken prisoner by the Predacons." Swerve replied, making Orion look down to the ground as he started to shake slightly as he started to feel ambivalent, due to both the fear for his Father's life and anger towards these 'Predacons'. But as he clenched his fists and looked back up to Swerve, he saw that the Bot still had the same expression on his face.

"What is it?" Orion asked, wondering how in the world things could get worse.

"...They have also taken your Mother prisoner too." the red and white armored Bot replied, wishing the ground would open up and swallow him at this moment due to how sour the atmosphere in the shuttle had become. The younger Darby's heart felt like it had stopped at that moment as the realisation that his parents were now in the hands of a deadly new enemy, so he then looked out of the window as he could feel everyone's eyes on him, but the devastation that he saw only made the anger growing in his spark double its intensity.

"Who are these witnesses?" Rodimus managed to ask while both Nightracer and Shen remained quiet, still in shock at the news they had been given. Liara though kept her gaze on Orion who was still looking away from her and out of the window, and her heart went out to him.

"The witnesses are Jackson Prime's team-mates. Smokescreen, Grunt and Garrus."

Shen's eyes widened as he looked away from Orion and right at Swerve.

"Dad!...Is he alright?" he said as everyone turned their attention to the Turian.

"Apart from some bruises and cuts, your Father and the others are fine. They are at a hospital on the outskirts of the city, since the New Iacon General was destroyed in the Predacon attack." Swerve replied, and that was when Orion suddenly turned away from the window and looked at the Autobot.

"I want to go to the hospital and see them."

"As do I." Shen joined in as both stared at Swerve, pilling on the pressure.

"Unfortunately my orders are to take you to meet with Warpath."

"Well I am afraid Warpath will have to wait Swerve, because I concur with Orion and Shen. We will go to the hospital first." Rodimus jumped in, earning a shocked look from the Autobot.

"But my orders are..."

But the Commander just gave him a matter-of-fact look in return, making Swerve feel small in comparison.

"Do I have to remind you who is in charge after Jackson Prime?"

"No sir, you don't." Swerve replied, his expression was one of worry as he sighed.

"It's just..." he tried to add before Rodimus cut him off.

"Look, the first port of call here is to make sure everyone's families and loved ones are alright." he said before glancing over to Orion who had reverted back to staring out of the window.

"And don't worry about Warpath, I know you are just following your orders. But that hot-headed Bot can go over the top sometimes, so I will deal with him later."

The Commander then looked back at his team and apart from Orion, everyone else gave him an appreciative nod.

A few minutes later they arrived at the hospital and it wasn't a sight that any of them was prepared for, as the place was heaving with injured people. It was so overcrowded that many were being treated right there and then in the corridors. It was hard for anyone to walk through as numerous doctors and nurses worked to try and help those in need with just the tools they had on their person, since they could not gain entry to any of the already full operating rooms. While the madness ensued around them, Rodimus and his team made their way slowly through the crowds as Orion and Shen searched for any Smokescreen, Garrus or Grunt.

"I have never seen anything like this." Nightracer said as she, Liara and the Commander saw a woman being held down on a gurney as she screamed at the sight of the stumps that were once her legs.

"Will someone sedate this poor woman already, we cannot treat her in this state." one of the Doctors shouted as she held down the woman with two nurses, when another Doctor appeared with a sedative in their hand and injected it in to the woman's arm, making her calm down as the drugs sent her off into unconsciousness. Nightracer looked over to Rodimus who was looking around him with a blank expression.

"This doesn't bother you Commander?" she asked, gaining the older Bot's attention.

"It does Nightracer, but unfortunately I have seen far worse in my time."

"You mean during the Reaper War?" the Femme replied, earning a nod from Rodimus.

"Yes, for during that time there were no wounded or even hardly any dead after those black monstrosities had visited a colony. Because the Reapers didn't just kill, but instead harvested a world of it's population and turned them in to instruments…..weapons to use against the rest of us who still drew breath and fought back." the Commander replied as memories of those dark days came flooding back into his mind.

"I have to agree with Rodimus on this." Liara added while looking around the room as she remembered the friends she had lost during the conflict, many of which she had to fight once they had been converted. As both Asari and Autobot thought on the past, Nightracer saw an active terminal nearby that showed a list of the confirmed dead on it's large holo-screen, so she walked over to it and typed her Mother's name into it's search engine. The screen then flashed up a no results message, which made the Femme breath a sigh of relief as Rodimus's eyes noticed a name in the list that scrolled down behind it.

"No…." he said, making Nightracer turn to him, with Liara mirroring her expression.

"What is it?" she asked as he placed his hand on the holo-controls and highlighted the name he was looking at, and that name was…..Ironhide.

Meanwhile Orion and Shen were still moving through the crowded corridors of the hospital when someone called out their names.

"Shen! Orion!"

Both Bot and Turian turned to see a familiar bot waving at them from across the corridor, he was wearing white and blue armour that was battered and burnt all over, but they both recognized him instantly.

"Smokescreen!" they said in unison as the Autobot joined the pair.

"Hey guys, glad to see that you too are alright."

"Yeah you too, though shouldn't you be in bed." Shen asked as he noted the bruises that were still visible on the Bot's face, but he shrugged in response.

"Nah, there are more people in need of a bed here than me. And this is all just cosmetic, I mean the last dose of medi-gel did the trick. I am already starting to feel better." Smokescreen replied while gesturing to his face.

"That's good to hear." Orion replied with a slight smile, gaining a similar one from Smokescreen before his expression changed to one more solemn.

"Orion…..I am really sorry about your parents, if only I hadn't been sucker punched, I may have been able to help your Dad."

The young Darby though shook his head in return, not willing to let Smokescreen take the burden.

"You shouldn't blame yourself Smokescreen, since we have seen what these Predacons have done to the city, I doubt there would have been anything more you could have done. I can only take solace in the fact they are not among the casualties." he replied, earning a nod from older Bot.

"That's kind of you to say, I know we will get them back and make that Galvatron pay for what he and his Predacons did."

Both Orion and Shen's eyes widened at the mention of that name.

"Did you say Galvatron?"

"Yeah, that was what the Leader of the Predacons called himself. Why? Have you heard of him?" Smokescreen replied, earning knowing looks from the pair.

"We should get Liara." Shen said, gaining a nod from Orion in agreement but before they could do that, a voice called out suddenly.

"Shen!" it said which made the young Vakarian turn around quickly and spot another Turian standing only a few feet away, a smile appearing Shen's face as he recognised him.

"Dad." he replied before rushing over and embracing his Father, who returned the hug just as affectionately.

"Its good to see you Son." Garrus exclaimed happily as the two remained in the embrace for a few seconds longer as Orion and Smokescreen joined them.

"I am glad you are alright Dad." Shen replied before they finally parted, with Garrus placing his hands on his son's shoulders.

"Well, I have picked up some new scars here and there, but its nothing when compared to what I have been through before." he said back reassuringly.

"Is Mum okay..." Shen then asked, gaining a nod from his Father.

"Your Mother's fine Shen, she is still back home on Rannoch. I just wish I could contact her, but all long range communications are offline."

"I bet you can thank the Predacons for that." Smokescreen said, making the Turians look over to him and Orion.

"Orion..." Garrus then said as his happy expression changed to one that was more subdued.

"...I am sorry that we didn't..." he began to say, only for the young Darby to cut him off.

"It wasn't your fault Uncle Garrus, I just told Smokescreen the same." he replied, gesturing to the bot beside him, earning an embarrassed look from him.

"Where is Grunt?" Shen said after noticing the group was short of a particular Krogan, and one of them was never hard to spot in any crowd.

"Even though the Doctors told him to stay right here, he just walked off. Said he was hungry." Smokescreen replied, gaining an eye roll from Garrus.

"Typical Krogan."

"So what do you guys know of this Galvatron?" Orion asked, surprising both the Bot and Turian. But before either could reply, the rest of the team appeared.

"There you are." Liara said as she, Nightracer and Rodimus joined them.

"About time you showed up Rodimus, can't say I am a fan of Warpath's command style." Garrus said, earning a nod from the Commander, who looked somewhat distant as he turned his attention to Orion.

"Before I deal with that...Orion, I...I am..." he began to say, but having trouble just letting the words out.

"Whats wrong?" Shen asked as Liara and Nightracer shared the same expression as the Commander, which Orion found himself uncomfortable with.

"What's going on?" he asked as Rodimus took a step toward him.

"I don't know how else to say it..."

"Then just say it, lets not beat around the bush here." the young Darby replied, clearly getting agitated with the uncertainty that Rodimus was uncharacteristically showing.

"...Ironhide is dead." the Commander then replied and then suddenly all the sounds of the doctors and patients around Orion became white noise as he tried to comprehend not only what He had just been told, but also balancing it with the fact that his parents were in mortal peril at the hands of monster like Galvatron. It was so much for him to take, the young man suddenly felt ill as his stomach started to stir and upset him.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." he said before pushing Shen aside and rushing over to the currently vacant visitor's bathroom, not even waiting for the door to close behind him as he vomited into it's toilet. Everyone just stood there, completely unsure of what to do for their friend. But Liara walked over to the door and waited, wanting to something rather than leave the Bot to his own despair.

Inside the bathroom, Orion had finally stopped vomiting and was just standing over the toilet, holding his hands out on the wall to keep himself in position, looking down at the mucus as it floated on the water inside the bowl. His entire body felt like it was aching, from his stomach through his chest to the back of his throat.

Tears started to well up in his eyes, but not from the pain his body was currently feeling, but through the realization that his entire immediate family was under threat of being snuffed out. But he knew he could not simply hide in this bathroom from his problems, that were continuing to mount without fail.

So he forced himself from the toilet, flushing it before moving over to the sink so he could wash his hands and face. Once done, he looked at himself in the mirror that was positioned over the sink.

_'First Mom and Dad captured, now Uncle Ironhide was killed. What was next for the my family? Quickstrike was currently off-world and so out of reach, and Aunt Chromia was...Chromia!'_  he thought before opening the door and startling Liara and the others.

"What about Aunt Chromia?" he asked with urgency in his voice, but the reaction of the others was not very encouraging.

"Orion, Jack told us before all the craziness happened that he was going to meet up with your Mom, Uncle and Aunt. But we never saw signs of either."

The young man felt like he was going to lose control again but before he did, a Doctor approached him.

"I am sorry to interrupt, but did you say Chromia?"

"Yes, yes I did." Orion replied with a slither of hope in his voice, earning a hand motion from the Doctor to follow him.

"This way sir, if you will follow me."

Orion followed the doctor through the crowded corridors of the hospital with the rest of his friends in tow, before stopping next to a door.

"If you would please come inside." the doctor said as he opened the door and let Orion enter the room first. The bot walked in to see a large white curtain spread around what only could have been a bed, and he could hear a heart monitor consistently beeping very softly as the doctor walked past him and toward the curtain.

"Can you identify this woman?" he asked before pulling the curtain back and Orion's eyes widened instantly as he recognized the patient lying their on the bed.

"Aunt Chromia!" he exclaimed before rushing to her bedside and taking her right hand in his own.

"A search and rescue team found her lying unconscious in one of the destroyed areas of the city, she had a stab wound in her stomach and had lost a lot of blood. They managed to stabilize her, but she also has sustained multiple injuries to numerous areas of her body. So once she was brought here, we induced a coma so that her body could concentrate on healing itself without any distractions."

Orion looked at his Aunt as her lay there looking all peaceful.

"A Coma? Will she reawaken?"

"Yes, she will in time. We induced the coma artificially, so we can bring her out when her treatment is complete and her vital signs are strong and healthy again." the Doctor replied, noticing the young Bot's expression as he looked at Chromia.

"Your Aunt has a strong spark, she will make it. I will personally see to her well being during her stay here."

"Thank you Doctor, may I stay a while with her?" Orion asked, earning a nod from the Doctor.

"Of course, I will be outside if you have any other questions."

With that the Doctor turned around and headed for the door.

Outside the room, everyone else was waiting to find out what was happening, while also making sure not to get in the way of the other doctors, nurses or patients.

"I hope that's who I think it is in there?" Garrus said, earning a nod from Smokescreen and Rodimus as Nightracer looked over to Liara and noticed her expression.

"You alright Liara?"

"What?...Yes, I am okay. Its just with all the terrible news that Orion has had to take on just now, it brought back some bad memories for me."

"You mean when you lost your friends during the war?" the Femme replied, gaining a nod from the Asari.

"Yes, I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone, let alone Orion." she said back as she glanced back at the door to the room the Darby was inside. Nightracer noted the look of concern on her face and was about to inquire further, when the door opened and out stepped the Doctor.

"Is everything alright Doctor?" Rodimus asked.

"Yes, everything is fine. The young Man is simply spending time with his Aunt right now." the Doctor replied before Garrus took a step toward him.

"Chromia is alright isn't she?" he asked, gaining a nod from the Doctor.

"She is fine, but I am afraid that I can only share details with family members. But rest assured, Chromia will be alright. Now if you'll excuse me, I have more patients to see." he replied before walking past the group and back into the crowds.

"Finally some good news, I was starting to think that things were only going to get worse." Smokescreen said with a little relief in his voice.

"I wouldn't breath easy yet Smokescreen. With the communication network still down, we have no idea where these Predacons will strike next." Rodimus replied, earning nods from the rest of the group.

"And that Galvatron is a real piece of work..." Smokescreen began saying before Liara jumped in, her eyes wide with shock at the Turian's comment.

"Did you say Galvatron?" she asked as Rodimus and Nightracer looked equally as surprised.

"Yes, Galvatron..." the Bot replied, making Liara's face go pale as it all started to dawn on her.

"...that's what he called himself." he then added, while Shen noticed the Asari's sudden change in complexion and guessed the reason why.

"Liara..."

The Asari then placed her head in her hands and breathed heavily.

_'By the goddess, its my fault. Its all my fault.'_  she thought as her behavior gained the attention of the others.

"Whats wrong with Liara?" Nightracer said as she looked up at everyone with a startled expression.

"It's my fault..." she said, earning confused looks from all.

"What do you mean?" Shen replied, before a group of soldiers appeared through the crowds and approached them, one of them was wearing red armour and looked like he was in charge.

"Commander Rodimus, I thought I would find you here." the Bot said, earning the Commander's attention.

"Warpath, as Swerve should of told you already. Members of my crew needed to be here to find out if their loved ones are alright."

"Yes, he did tell me that. But your presence has been requested by what remains of the Senate." Warpath replied.

"Swerve informed me of what happened at the Decagon, how many Senators did we lose in the attack?" Rodimus asked, earning a bemused expression from the Autobot.

"Over half of the Senators were killed when the star-ship crashed into the building...wait, you were informed about this and yet came here first?"

Rodimus narrowed his eyes in response to Warpath's rather hostile sounding question, not amused by his attitude what so ever.

"My first and main responsibility is to my crew Warpath, it's something that you have never really comprehended and that is why you never advanced past Captain. Now as soon as I know that one particular member of my crew is alright...he is in the room behind me right now with his Aunt, oh and his parents are currently prisoners of the very force that attacked us by the way."

Everyone...except Liara looked on in awe at Rodimus who was showing real metal as a Leader while he stared down at Warpath who despite all his fluster, looked more likely to run and hide than stand his ground in this moment.

"...his parents...you mean Orion Darby, Jackson Prime's son?" Warpath replied with a very unsure tone as he looked up at the Commander, who merely nodded back.

"Yes. Once I know he is alright, I will happily go and see the Senate, but not a moment before. Am I crystal clear enough for you?" Rodimus answered, earning a somewhat shaky nod from the red armored bot who looked away, feeling very small in comparison. That was when his eyes caught the sight of Liara who still had her head in her hands, with Shen sitting beside her with his hand on her shoulder.

"...What's wrong with her?" the Captain asked, trying to change the topic and draw attention away from his humiliation.

"I'm not sure?" Shen lied as he looked up at both Warpath and Rodimus.

"She just said that it was her fault."

"What is your fault Liara?" the Commander asked, making the Asari look at him as he knelt down on to see her at equal level.

"Galvatron…." she simply said in return and it was right then that Rodimus realized exactly what Shen and Nightracer both thought at that moment, remembering what Liara had told them during her debriefing.

"Ah I see." he said before breaking eye contact with her for a second while looking away, Liara though did not know what to make of this action by Rodimus. But she looked at the others, and she saw supportive expressions from both Shen and Nightracer, while Garrus and Smokescreen just looked confused by the whole situation. But then her eyes fell on Warpath and his look was definitely more aggressive then everyone else.

"Would someone like to fill me in with what is going on here. Who is that for starters?" he said, earning a sigh from Rodimus as gave Liara a slight but sad smile, acknowledging that he knew what she was currently thinking before getting back up and looking at the Autobot Captain.

"This is Doctor Liara T'Soni, survivor of the Icarus incident on Cybertron."

"T'Soni, Matriarch Benzezia's daughter. She will be most pleased to know you are safe Miss T'Soni." Warpath replied with a smile.

"My Mother, she is here on Earth?" the Asari replied.

"Yes, she was one of the lucky ones I guess. Your Mother was at the edge of New Iacon when the Predacons attacked."

But then the Captain's expression changed as he narrowed his eyes at her, making Liara feel uncomfortable.

"Now as your mother has told us and Rodimus has just confirmed, you were a crew member on board the Icarus, the very ship that as of this moment is half buried in what remains of the Decagon. Which means you must know more about these new enemies of ours."

"Wow, this guy is a real Sherlock Holmes isn't he." Smokescreen joked to Garrus who looked back at him with a confused expression.

"Sherlock...who?"

But Rodimus and the others ignored the pair and focused on Liara and Warpath, that latter of which looked almost confrontational as he stepped closer to the Asari and stared down at her.

"Are you going to tell me why you consider this all your fault, because the way you are looking right now screams of guilt."

"I…..I don't….I…" she started to stammer as the pressure from Warpath was becoming too much for her to take, causing her to breakdown there and then. Rodimus suddenly stepped in between them both and pushed the Captain back, startling him.

"Nightracer, Shen! Get Liara out of here while I deal with this arse-hole." he snapped while keeping his eyes firmly fixed on Warpath.

"She's not going anywhere, guards!" the Captain said, making his men ready their weapons, but Garrus and Smokescreen instantly equipped and aimed their hand guns at the soliders as did Shen. Nightracer motioned Liara into the room where Orion currently was before doing the same, while Rodimus stood his ground with Warpath.

"Everyone lower your weapons now, that's an order!" he shouted, startling not only the group but the doctors and patients around them. They all lowered their weapons while looking completely bemused as the Commander turned his attention back to Warpath.

"As for you…" he started to say before punching the Captain square in the jar and knocking him out, sending him to the floor.

"…consider yourself relieved."

 


	15. Chapter 15

The last few minutes had passed like a blur for Liara and because of her current state of mind, she didn't understand any of it. The only thing she did know was at this moment was that she was standing in the room that currently was home for Orion's Aunt, who was in a coma while bed stricken at the other end of said room.

"Liara?" a very familiar voice asked, bringing her attention to Orion who was sitting at Chromia's bedside and holding her hand in his own. He was looking at the Asari with a confused expression, but Liara felt no hostile intent from him as they looked at each other for a long moment. The Blue Woman could say that she felt this young man sitting in front of her could never be capable of such an action to those he considered his friends. Since the first time they had met, Orion had only ever tried to be her friend. But she also felt that there could be more there between the two of them, and she would be lying if she didn't feel it too. But as of this moment, all she felt was shame and guilt, which could be seen all over her face.

Orion was definitely confused right now since just prior to this he had been sitting with his Aunt, who despite her injuries looked so peaceful as she lied there on the bed. And even though she was currently unaware of his presence, Orion was going to stay by her side for a little longer while he thought on everything that had happened recently. The Predacons and Galvatron, how they captured his parents, finding out that his Uncle had been killed and the not so small miracle that was his Aunt surviving her injuries. Nothing on this day had made any sense to the young Man, and then Liara appearing in the room simply added to his confusion.

"Liara, what's wrong?" Orion asked as he observed the beautiful Asari, and she was very beautiful. But as he focused on Liara, he noticed her eyes were welling up while a single tear ran down her left cheek as she started to sob. So Orion instantly walked over to her, which made the Asari look down at the ground in shame.

"Liara, talk to me..." he said with in a soft tone while kneeling down in front of her so they would be at face level, and slowly the Asari looked back at him with her aqua coloured eyes meeting his own.

"...Its all my fault Orion."

"What is Liara?" he said back with a look that was both confused and curious.

"Everything...everything that has happened today with Galvatron, the attack on city, your family...all of it." she replied while looking away again, not wanting him to see the shame that she felt inside. Orion though wasn't going to back down from this and let Liara drown in sorrow that was not even deserved.

"Look at me Liara." he said in gentle yet firm tone, earning her attention as she wiped the tears from her face.

"I know you were there when Galvatron was awakened, but that does not make you or anyone among the group you were with responsible for any of the atrocities that he has committed since then. He and these Predacons are the ones that should be blamed, no one else." he added, making Liara shake her head in return.

"But I did secretly have doubts about waking him up, though I ignored them because I trusted Shockblast's judgement." She said, earning a supportive look from the Spectre.

"And if you had raised your concerns, do you think that Shockblast would have listened or would he have continued forward?"

The Asari looked at Orion, or more so his own blue eyes and saw no judgement or anger, just a calmness that seemed to seep into her very being as she remembered how driven her former Boyfriend was at that time. So she broke eye contact and sighed while looking back down to the ground.

"...No, he wouldn't have stopped." she admitted as another tear flowed down her cheek as she remembered Shockblast.

"Come here." Orion then said as he instinctively brought his arms up around the Asari and embraced her in a hug, which surprised her at first. But soon Liara found herself calming down as she brought her arms up and hugged him back in return. The whole action made her feel even more calmer as they held on to each other, the Asari could swear that she felt the beats of Orion's spark through his chest due to their physical closeness right now and the that too added to the calming effect that the bot had over her at this moment.

"You okay?" Orion asked as she rested her head on his shoulder, listening to her breathing as it slowed down.

"Yes, yes I feel better. And you?"

"Funny enough, I do too." he replied, surprised that he was feeling that way. Helping Liara obviously took his mind off of his own problems, which now made him feel calmer and more assertive. So they pulled away from each other, but neither had noticed that they were still holding each others hands.

"Thank you Orion." Liara said with a slight smile, earning a similar expression from the Bot as she gently stroked his hand with her thumb affectionately.

"Your welcome Liara." he replied before looking past her towards the door.

"Ready to go out there and face everyone?"

The Asari nodded in return.

"Yes...but you are coming too right?" she asked with a curious expression.

"I am, just give me a moment." Orion replied, gaining a nod back before he walked back over to his Aunt's bed. Orion bent down over the sleeping Chromia and placed his hand over hers.

"I have to go now Aunt Chromia, but I promise that I will return with my Mom and Dad. And I will also make Galvatron pay for Uncle Ironide's death, I hope to see you soon." he whispered into her ear, then he got back up and walked over to Liara who was waiting by the door. But as they turned their attention away from Chromia, they did not notice that her hand began to move for a second.

"Well, here we go." Orion said as he tapped the release button on the control panel at the door's side, making it slide open but then they both looked on in wide eyed surprise at the sight before them. As lying unconscious on the floor was Warpath while everyone else stood around him, not looking the slightest bit bothered that he was. Then Smokescreen smiled at both bot and Asari.

"Guess what you guys missed!"

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Six-shot had been standing at the Command post in the Nemesis's CIC for over an hour since taking over from Lord Galvatron, and he had nothing much to say or do as the Terracons continued with their tasks without any trouble what so ever. So he instead used his time to go over the ship's security footage and database, one holo-screen had information scrolling down it about the Nemesis's capabilities, while another had live footage of both Jackson Prime and his spark-mate Arcee in their shared cell. It showed the Femme as she was tending to her Human, who was lying down on one of the basic bed-like furniture that the cells were equipped with. The Prime certainly looked worse for wear and not just because of his missing limb, because Galvatron had really done a number on him physically as he was covered in bruises.

' _I wonder if our Lord had gone over board on the Prime because of his rapidly erratic state of mind._ ' Six-shot thought as he then with a flick of his hand switched to another camera, this one was titled 'Commander's Quarters'. But the Con was surprised to see nothing but static on the screen which was accompanied by a hissing sound, which meant that the camera had been shut down at the source.

' _Scrap! What are you hiding Galvatron?_ '

But before he could contemplate that question any further, his attention was drawn to the sound of the door to the CIC opening up. He quickly shut down the security footage and turned around, hoping that it wasn't a certain Predacon Leader. But he breathed a sigh of relief as he recognised his Brother Shockblast, who walked up to him with two other Cons that he did not know.

"Shockblast..." he exclaimed happily.

"...I did not know you were coming on board." he added as he went to embrace his older sibling, but Shockblast ignored it and took a step back with a cold expression that surprised Six-shot.

"I am here to report my progress to Lord Galvatron, where is he?"

"He retired to his quarters an hour ago, are you alright? Because I haven't seen you for a while." the younger sibling asked with a worried expression since he had not expected this reaction from his own Brother. But Shockblast just looked at him blankly.

"I am fine, I have been busy creating more Terrcons and these two Predacons from the last of the CNA samples in Shockwave's database." he replies while gesturing to the two newcomers behind him. One was Caucasian with blond hair, strong build and was wearing silver and black armour, while the other looked Asian with a slightly smaller frame and was wearing yellow armour with black stripes covering it like some sort of camouflage.

"This is Darksteel and Vertebreak, They had wished to meet their Master before being deployed."

"Welcome to the Predacons, I am sure you will both be excellent additions to our Lord Galvatron's army." Six-shot said with a slight smile at the two Men, but they did not even acknowledge him. They simply looked back to Shockblast who nodded in return, causing both to turn around and leave the CIC. The older sibling was then about to do the same, but Six-shot stopped him.

"Shockblast, are you okay?" he said, regaining his Brother's attention.

"Yes I am fine Six-shot." he replied with smile, something the younger brother not seen in a while. This brought relief to his spark as he smiled back in return.

"That's good to hear, its just I haven't seen you outside of that lab for a good while."

"I have just been busy, you worry to much little brother." Shockblast said back, earning a sigh from the younger Con.

"Yeah...I guess I do. Still we can spend some quality brother time at some point right? Possibly on patrol or something."

"Sure thing, well I should get back. If you could inform our Liege of my visit, I would appreciate it." Shockblast replied before turning around and walking out of the CIC. But as the younger sibling watched the door close behind his him with just the Terracons once again, as his worry for his brother came back to the surface.

_'Liege? Shockblast never used to speak like that before. What is happening to him._ '

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

"So you just knocked him out?" Orion asked, trying hard to keep himself from smirking as he looked at Rodimus, who just nodded in return.

"Yes I did."

"It was awesome." Smokescreen interjected, sounding more like the naive younger soldier he used to be years earlier.

"Warpath had it coming, but more importantly are you alright Liara?" the Commander replied.

"Yes, thank you. Though I feel I should apologise for my behavior." the Asari said in return sheepishly, wanting nothing more than to forget her moment of misguided guilt.

"You have nothing to apologise for Liara." Shen replied with a smile, one mirrored by the rest of the group which earned an embarrassed smile from the Asari who also blushed in return.

"And you alright Orion?" the Commander asked as he turned his attention to his XO.

"Yes, I think I will be. As long as get back out there, I have to find my parents and make those that took them pay." Orion replied with serious and firm tone.

"I second that." Nightracer said in agreement, earning nods from Shen and Smokescreen.  
"Want some extra help?" the bot said, surprising the others.

"You want to join us the Normandy too Smokescreen?" Rodimus asked.

" Sure." the Autobot replied with an eager tone and smile.

"You do know that you won't be counted as an Autobot Spectre." the Commander replied, gaining a nod from the Bot.

"I know, but still I want to help get Jack and Arcee back...any way I can."

"Alright then, but what about Grunt?" the Spectre Elite said back.

"If you think you could use a Krogan on your team, I am sure he would want in on this too." Smokescreen replied.

"Well I will ask him when I see him. So I guess..." Rodimus began to say before his com-link beeped.

"Excuse me." he then said to the others before taking the call.

"Jetstorm report...you have, excellent. How long for repairs...four days! Okay, we'll just have to try and speed that up. Thanks for the update...Rodimus out." the Commander replied before ending the call and returning his attention to the others.

"The Normandy has docked with the dry-dock and the have begun repairs."

"Did we hear that right...four days?" Orion asked, earning a nod from his Commander.

"Thats the minimal it will take to get the Normandy back to full working condition. And in the meantime I have a Senate meeting to go to, so the rest of your I am placing on the inactive list until the ship is ready. Take the time to see your family and rest..." he said while glancing over to Orion, hoping he didn't offend his XO. But since The Bot did not even flinch, the Commander continued.

"...I will want you all in full fighting condition when we leave."

"leave? Where will we be going?" Shen asked.

"Cybertron, since that is where Liara first came in contact with this Galvatron right, in one of Shockwave's secret labs, I think it would be a good place to start our search."

"Yes that's correct." the Asari replied, as Smokescreen jumped in.

"And the Predacons came from Cybertron originally too, maybe Galvatron found another of Shocks's labs and woke them up too."

Everyone looked at the bot, who simply stared back at them with a confused expression.

"What? I cant have been the only one to know that bit of Cybertron's history."

"No, that's actually a good point you just made Smokescreen." Rodimus replied.

"We are just surprised that it came from you." Garrus teased, gaining a red face from the Bot.

"Hey...no fair, I have had lots pf good ideas in the past. How about the time I used the Phase-Shifter to reclaim the Apex Armour from Starscream."

"Moving on..." the Commander said suddenly, moving the group's attention back to himself.

"...I am going to go and propose our plan to the Senate, so what you do now for the next few days is up to you."

"Hey Dad, why don't you join us too. You can still kick ass with the best of them." Shen asked, making the older Turian smile and shake his head in return.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence son, but I am getting to old for this. Besides, the Normandy already has one ace Turian sniper on board, no need to add another."

"Alright, then how about I stick around so we can catch up until the Normandy's ready?" the younger Turian replied.

"I'd like that. Come on then, let's get something to eat." Garrus said back before leaving the area with his Son.

"I am going to go visit my Mom, what about you Orion?" Nightracer said as she looked over to the young Spectre who had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Oh, I think I will spend some time at the family home." he replied before looking over to Liara who was speaking to Rodimus, not even noticing that the Femme had stopped beside him.

"You sure you want to, I mean you haven't been back there in a good few years Orion. I mean with everything that has just happened in such a short time, perhaps going home isn't the best course of action. I mean wouldn't you rather like to stay with your Aunt?"

Orion looked back at Nightracer and gave her a slight smile, knowing fully well that she was just looking out for him, but he just shook his head in return.

"The Doctor said that it would be a while yet before Chromia wakes, and I know she would not want me to wait around for her to do so when there could be other things that need doing. Plus I have been putting visiting home off for far too long, so I need to do this."

The Femme nodded in acknowledgement before turning away, but then she looked back.

"Okay, but if you need anything…." she said, earning a smile from Orion.

"I know, thanks Ni."

Then Nightracer turned away and headed down the corridor, leaving the young Darby on his own as he looked back over to Liara and Rodimus.

"Liara, you know that your Mother will be expecting that I bring you with me to her at the Senate meeting." the Commander said, gaining a nod from the Asari.

"I do Commander, as I also know that my Mother would then have me taken back to Thessia to keep me safe. But that is not what I want, since I feel that I can be of help to you and your team. So I would like to join your crew, if you will have me?"

"I have a feeling that your Mother would not approve, but with us going to Cybertron and possibly facing off against Galvatron. I would rather we had someone who knows their way around, so as Commander of the Normandy…. permission granted Dr T'Soni."

"Thank you Commander." the Asari replied with a smile.

"Well, I will see you aboard the Normandy then." the Spectre Elite said back before turning around and walking away, but not before glancing over to Orion and giving him a nod. The younger bot nodded back as the Commander headed to the elevator and once there, Rodimus looked back to see Liara joining Orion and he just smirked before stepping into the elevator before it's doors closed.

"I thought you would be going to see your mother Liara?" Orion asked as the blue Asari stopped beside him, before shaking her head in return.

"No, actually as of this moment I am now a member of the Normandy's crew." she replied, gaining a surprised smile from the bot which almost made her blush.

"Really, well I am glad that you are sticking around."

"Are you now, and why is that then?" Liara responded coyly, and now it was Orion's time to blush as he ran his hand through his blue hair.

"Well….you are….. really good with those Biotics of yours for one thing." he managed to say without too much of a stammer, earning chuckle from the Asari.

"Okay, that will do…..for now. So where were you heading?"

"I was going to go back home, I haven't been there for a long time." the Bot replied.

"Do you want some company?" Liara replied, gaining a slight smile from Orion in return.

"Sure, I mean if you don't have anything else…"

"No, I think it is safe to say that…. I am all yours." the Asari said back.

"Alright, so let's go to the ground-bridge then." Orion said before they both walked toward the elevator together and got ready to leave the Hospital.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Twenty minutes later and both Orion and Liara stepped through the vortex of the Ground-bridge to find themselves standing atop a small grassy hill, one that had a perfect view of the coastline as the waves moved onto the golden sand beach just aways from the pair.

"I know we are going to your family home Orion, but where exactly are we?" Liara asked while looking out to the horizon where the deep blue ocean and the clear blue sky met.

"We are on the northern California coast, not far from San Francisco. This is called 'Drakes Bay'." Orion replied, earning a curious expression from the Asari.

"Drake's Bay?"

"It was named after Sir Francis Drake, who was the second person to circumnavigate the world from fifteen seventy seven to fifteen eighty. It is believed that his landing spot was on this bay during that voyage." Orion replied.

"I see, did it have any name before that?"

"Puerto De Los Reyes."

"So you are also quite knowledgeable, not just a pretty face then." Liara replied coyly, nearly making the Bot blush yet again.

' _She's very good at that.'_ Orion thought as he smiled at her, before pointing to a white house just aways from them.

There is the Darby residence." he said as his Asari friend looked over to the house, noticing its picket fence and large porch, complete with porch swing that overlooked the beach and sea.

"Looks nice, must have been a great place to grow up." she replied as they walked over to the house.

"It really was." Orion said back before going silent for a moment, this did not go unnoticed by Liara.

"Orion?" she said back with a curious tone, but instead the bot opened the little white gate on the picket fence to let them in and then looked around.

"Ravage? Ravage?" he called out until he heard a groan coming from the porch, noticing a large greying feline lying under the porch swing. It it lifted it's head and looked directly at Orion before then going back to it's original position, and then suddenly it's head sprang up again and stared at the blue haired Bot with it's eyes widening as it recognised him.

"Ravage!" Orion exclaimed happily as the feline got to it's and made his way over to the young man, though at a somewhat slower pace which showed it's age. Orion knelt down as Ravage came right up to him and licked his face before embracing his pet and friend in a warm hug, earning a purr from the animal. Liara smiled at this touching display before Orion pulled away and looked at Ravage.

"Miss me Ravage? Because I missed you." he said as he stroked the top of the cat's head, making Ravage pull a funny and adorable expression as it enjoyed it, purring some more. The Feline then looked at Liara as Orion stopped and stood up again, the Asari not being sure how to react.

"Don't worry about Ravage, he is just a big softy really." the Bot said with a smile before the feline moved over to the Female and rubbed his body against her legs.

"Told you, I think he likes you." Orion observed as Liara stroked the big cat's back, earning a purr from Ravage.

"Nice to meet you Ravage." The Asari then said as she then knelt down and fussed with the Feline, Orion simply watched for a moment walking onto the porch and opening the door.

"Shall I leave you two alone then?" he joked as both Liara and Ravage looked up, the latter tilting it's head to the side.

"I'm coming, sorry Ravage." she said before getting to her feet and following Orion through the door, leaving the Feline to whine slightly before heading back to his spot under the porch swing.

"Would you like a drink?" Orion asked as they stood in the living room, with Liara taking a seat on the chocolate colored couch.

"Yes please." she replied, gaining a nod from the bot who then entered the kitchen, which was a walk-in one that had a complete view of the living room. He opened the fridge and looked inside, while Liara noticed many photos on the walls and so got up to take a closer look.

"We have some beers and sodas in here." Orion called back from behind the open fridge door.

"A soda would be great." Liara answered back while looking a lt a photo showing Jack and Arcee with a baby Orion, gaining a smile from the Asari.

_'He looks so cute.'_  she thought before looking at more photos that showed Orion at different points in his life, each photo had the feel of a loving family, which confused Liara due to what she had heard and seen when it came to Orion and his father. Her eyes then fell upon a photo of the bot at his Autobot graduation in full military dress, he had to be about twenty years old at that point.

' _Orion really is an eye catcher that's for sure, but still so young when compared to myself._ ' the Asaro thought, but then she noticed that he did not look entirely happy in the photo. Neither did his father in another photo of both Parents standing with their son on that same day, the only person that looked happy was Arcee who could not look any more prouder of her son.

Liara was so engrossed in the photos, she had not noticed that Orion was walking up to her with the sodas in hand.

"That one was when I was fourteen years old, and went up in my first shuttle flight with my Mom and Jetfire who was a friend of the family. It was incredible seeing the clouds fly past and looking down to the ground and seeing everything looking like miniatures from one of those old model exhibits you see in museums. And then it got more surreal when Jetfire let me take control of the shuttle for a few seconds. At first he flew it with me, talking me through it and showing me what everything did. And then he let me pilot it without any assistance, I tell you my Mom looked very nervous at first but she was so proud of me afterwards and I was hooked on flying after that." Orion replied with such enthusiasm that Liara found herself swept up by the energy and aura that he was giving off as he talked about it.

"I just wanted to fly all the time, and Jetfire saw that I was gifted so chose to train me until I was old enough to join the academy." The bot added before stopping to take a sip of his soda, as Liara smiled back at him.

"I could tell with how well you handled that sky-car back on Illium, so why didn't you stay a pilot. I mean your a Spectre now right? Why did you give up on flying?" Liara asked, which suddenly altered the mood of the conversation as Orion started to look uncomfortable as he turned his attention towards a closed door at the far end of the living room. Liara noticed this right away and decided to change the subject, so looked out of the window that was next to her and noticed four mechanical devices on metal rods that were planted in a square like shape in the back garden.

"What are they?" she asked, regaining Orion's attention as he took a look through the same window at the devices.

"They are holographic emitters, my Dad set them up to create a sort of training area. He used it to keep himself sharp and ready by fighting with holographic enemies."

' _Damn it, I wanted to shift the focus away from his Dad and this just brought it back to him._ ' she thought, but decided to continue on. Hoping that Orion would let her eventually.

"Have you ever used it?" she asked, gaining a shake of the head from him.

"No, but I have seen my Dad use it many times. Fighting against holo-enemies of Reaper Husks, MECH soldiers and mercs. It was one of the ways he would train or…..just let of some steam."

Liara sighed as even though she had tried to move the conversation away from Orion's Dad, she had done the opposite and the bot was still looking somewhat uncomfortable as he took another drink from his soda.

' _Screw it!_ ' Liara thought, because she liked Orion and seeing him like this made her feel as uncomfortable and hurt as he obviously was. But she knew that there was only one way that he would get over whatever issue was plaguing him about his father, and that was getting him to open up and talk about it.

And so she would have to force him to do so, even if it was painful for him. Liara hoped as she got up and moved around to face him that he would not end up hating he for it, but if this did help him, then that would be a good thing in the long run. Not only for him, but for his friends and family too.

' _That has to be worth it._ ' she thought as she leaned against the window sill and looked at Orion with a and expression that was both serious and supportive.

"Orion…what's wrong? Talk to me." she asked in a gentle tone as the Bot looked to the ground.

"I…don't want too." he replied, the tone of his voice sounding uncertain. But Liara did not move her eyes off him and placed her hand on his own, which was settled on the window sill next to her.

"Please, let me know what it is that has been bothering you."

"What do you mean, what do you know?" Orion then asked back as he looked at her, with slight hostility in his eyes as he became defensive, but the Asari kept her calm and all he saw was the Woman that had become a friend in his eyes.

"Hardly anything. I kind of guessed that there was something that was bothering you after we first spoke about your parents, and then after talking to Shen and Nightracer…."

"What did they say?" Orion said back with a worried tone as he cut his friend off.

"They are worried about you and so am I, we are your friends after all. Well I hope I am?" Liara replied as she looked down to the ground, as if it was her turn to do so. But the young man sighed and hung his shoulders as he looked at her.

"You are my friend Liara….but I just….don't want to talk about…"

"What? What is it that you don't want to talk about? Because I can see how uncomfortable you are with this, and that to me, it looks like you have been carrying this on your shoulders for a long time….perhaps too long. So please….let me in, let me help you?" Liara replied in an almost pleading like tone, earning a thoughtful look from Orion as he looked back to her and then back towards the door at the far end of the room. The Asari followed his eyes and looked at the same door, gaining a curious expression on her face.

"Where does that door go?"

"My Dad's study."

"So this is about your Father?" Liara replied, as if she did not already know who it was that Orion had an issue with. But the bot nodded in return before looking back to her.

"Help me to help you…please?" she asked again, as she thought she saw some cracks appearing in the armour that Orion was hiding himself behind.

"You know as a family we used to be so happy, and me and Dad were inseparable. He was my hero and I remember every night when I was young, he would tell me stories of his adventures with my Mom and the Autobots. I wanted to be just like him, experiencing the same kind of adventures." the Bot said while looking back out of the window.

"What changed?" Liara asked while never taking her eyes off the Bot as he reminisced, but then Orion stopped and looked at her.

"Things started going down hill when I was fifteen, my Dad began to change. He became more stern and serious with me all of a sudden, I didn't know where this attitude had came from."

"What about your Mother?"

"My Mom noticed it too. But whenever she tried to find out why, Dad would just shrug it off and act like nothing was wrong." Orion replied, earning an inner smile from the Asari.

' _That sounds familiar…_ ' she thought before returning her attention to the Bot.

"So did you ever find out?"

"Yes….." he replied before going quiet again, making Liara sigh to herself in slight frustration.

' _No, not again._ ' she thought before gently stroking his hand with her own as they leaned against the window sill.

"You know if your having trouble remembering this, then there is another way to share it with me." she said, earning a curious look from Orion.

"How?"

"Well as an Asari, I can join my mind to you and share memories and feelings with you. It is a process that works both ways."

Orion's eyes widened slightly at that last part that Liara said.

"You can see my memories and feelings?" he replied as a slight shyness came over him, to which Liara smiled slightly in return.

"Yes, but I will only do this if you want me too, that is if you trust me."

The Bot looked back at her, his eyes meeting hers and nodded in return.

"I trust you Liara, okay lets do this." he said as the Asari stood back up and took him by the hand.

"Come here then, Orion."

The Bot then stood up in front of her and the two looked into each other's eyes.

"I want you to think about your Father and what happened between you both, it will make finding the memory in question that much easier." Liara said, earning a nod from Orion.

"Alright, now close your eyes and relax."

The young man then closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly, while the Asari then lowered her forehead towards him. They could almost feel each others breath on their faces, now that they were so close. Then Liara closed her eyes, mirroring Orion as she too breathed the same.

Then for one moment that seemed to last forever, the pair stood in relative silence apart from the sound of the porch swing which moved ever so slightly due to the breeze coming in from the ocean.

"Embrace Eternity." Liara then said as she simultaneously opened her eyes, revealing them to be jet black instead of her natural blue and Orion suddenly felt the world around him disappear as everything went black.

 


	16. Chapter 16

Eight years previously...

_'It was early evening on Rannoch as it's sun began its descent below the horizon for another day and there was not a cloud in sight for miles, Orion was with Nightracer and Jetfire as they stood beside the training shuttle that they had just landed.  
"Another great lesson you two, keep this kind of pace up and you will be ready for the Autobot Academy nearly a year earlier than your supposed to." the tutor said with a proud smile as the pair of teenagers stood in front of him. Nightracer was managing to look like the praise had not gone to her head as she stood there in a calm manner, Orion though...well he had the biggest grin on his face and could not look more happy. The Femme simply smiled and shook her head slightly as she looked to the ground for a second._

_'I could hit Orion for being so big-headed, if it weren't for the fact he was so cute doing it.' Nightracer thought as Jetfire looked at his holo-tool._

_"Okay, so that's today's lesson over now. Two weeks from now, we will fly through Razor Canyon and I will see just how good your reflexes truly are."_

_Both Orion and Nightracer looked excited as their tutor gave them the news, making him look back with a cautious expression._

_"Yeah I know, its Razor Canyon. But you shouldn't let your confidence get the better of you, or the canyon will chew you up and spit you back out." he said while giving Orion a knowing look, which made Nightracer chuckle in response._

_"Looking forward to it." the young bot replied, while trying to ignore the Femme._

_"Alright, the transport will be here to take you back to your parents in the city in fifteen minutes, so I will see you tomorrow. And again, great job today." Jetfire said with a smile before walking off and leaving the two youngsters alone next to the shuttle._

_"So we have some time to waste before our ride shows up, what shall we do with it?" Orion asked, earning a delicious smile from Nightracer who got up close to him._

_"Well since we are all alone, I thought we could make out until it arrives." she replied in a coy tone, gaining a similar smile from the bot as his cheeks reddened._

_"I was just thinking the same thing."_

_The young Femme gave him a knowing smile as she put her arms around his neck and pulled him close._

_"I bet you were...so kiss me already."_

_Orion happily obliged as he pulled her close and pressed his lips against hers, earning a little moan from Nightracer who then opened her mouth, letting the bot slip his tongue inside and it danced with her own. Then he returned the favour and the femme used her tongue to explore the inside of his mouth. The pair continued to kiss for a good few minutes, barely stopping for air as they enjoyed each other._

_In fact they were so caught up in the act, they failed to notice two others, a Bot and a Turian around their age walking up to them._

_"Get a room you two."_

_Both the Bot and Femme almost jumped as they pulled away, before looking around the air strip to see who had found them out. Then they saw the two new comers and both gave off an annoyed sigh as they recognised them._

_"Why don't you come back in another ten minutes Shen, we will be done by then." Nightracer replied without even looking at him, as she was more interested in looking at her boyfriend who still had his arms around her waist._

_"What and miss that look on your faces right now." the Turian said back in a teasing tone, while the blonde haired lad chuckled._

_"Quickstrike, find this funny do you?" Orion asked, earning a nod from the blonde lad._

_"Sure do Cuz, since you two sure do have a bad taste in making-out areas. I mean not far behind us there are some Geth engineers heading this way, I wonder what their reactions would have been to see you two like that?" he replied as the couple broke their embrace, but still held hands._

" _I think their reaction would be 'analysing…analysing….analysing'." Shen replied in his best impression of a Geth voice. The others laughed out loud at the Turian, who bowed his head shyly and waved them off._

" _Okay, not the best impression, I know."_

" _Its funny as hell though." Quickstrike replied as he took a deep breath and regained his composure, as did Orion and Nightracer._

"… _So, what have you two been up to?" the young Darby asked while he gently squeezed the Femme's hand affectionately, making her smile grow a little wider._

" _We were down at the shooting range, out doing each others scores." Quickstrike said back, earning a knowing look from Shen._

" _You mean 'you' were trying to out do my score, don't you? I mean who here has actually had sniper training?"_

" _Oh boy, here we go again.." Nightracer replied with a tired tone, earning an eye roll from her Boyfriend._

" _Yeah, we know your Dad is an Elite Sniper….." Quickstrike started to reply, only for the Turian to cut him off._

"… _You mean the Elite Sniper, don't you."_

_Yeah well...can your Dad take on scores of enemies with just his bare hands?" the blonde bot said back before waiting for a come back from Shen, but the Turian just looked flustered._

_"Ha, didn't think so.."_

_"Okay guys, but tell me this...which one of your Dads is a Prime?" Nightracer then asked, making both bots sigh and nod back in acceptance. The femme then turned back to Orion and saw him look down to the ground with a dejected expression, making her instantly regret her action._

_"I'm sorry Orion, I didn't think."_

_"It's alright Ni." he replied as she gently squeezed his hand while placing her free hand on his shoulder affectionately._

_'I should of thought about what I was going to say before I opened my mouth.' the femme thought, because it's not like she did not already know about Orion's frosty relationship with his Father...or rather how it had devolved to one. Since it was never like that before, and frankly it left Nightracer incredibly confused._

_"Okay, so what are we doing now?" Orion then asked to the others, bringing the femme out of her thoughts just as Quickstrike and Shen looked at him._

_"Well since we are all together, I think we should get the transport back to the city and grab a bite to eat before our parents turn up." the Blonde bot replied, Shen nodded in return._

_"Yeah, I am starving."_

_Both Orion and Nightracer looked at each other before shrugging their shoulders in unison._

_"Why not..."_

_"Great, lets go to the landing pad then and wait for the transport, it will be here in a few minutes." Quickstike said back, as he and Shen started to move away, with the couple just behind. But then Orion stopped and looked back at the shuttle, gaining a confused expression from Nightracer._

_"Orion? What is it?" she asked as the others stopped too and looked back._

_"Whats the hold up?" Shen asked while the young Darby looked over to the shuttle, a smile appearing on his face.  
"What are you thinking?" the Femme asked, knowing fully well what that look meant from her Boyfriend._

_"Why don't we forget about the transport and make our own way there."_

_His three friends all looked at him with a wide-eyed stare._

_"And how are we going to do that Orion? The transport is the only way to and from here for non-pilots." Shen replied.  
"But Ni and I are not non-pilots." the Bot said back with a confident tone in his voice, earning a half smile from the Femme._

_"You want to fly the shuttle there instead, do you think we can?" she asked with slight trepidation in her voice, though her face betrayed that concern with the growing smile she had._

_"Sure we can, and even Jetfire thinks so. He said as much during our last few flights, why else should he give us a chance to fly Razor Canyon." Orion replied._

_"You guys have been offered that? Wow, I guess your progressing really fast in your training?" Quickstrike said, making the couple look at him and nod._

_"Yeah, I was surprised too, but Orion is right. We have been excelling in our flight-skill."_

_The Femme then smiled at her boyfriend, who mirrored her expression._

_"Alright, I'm in."_

_"Hey if Jetfire, the legendary Aerialbot thinks your ready for the Razor Canyon. Then I have no problem flying with you guys." Quickstrike said back with a smile. The three teens turned to the Turian._

_"Shen, how about it. Want to fly with the slow and annoying transport, or come with us and get there faster?" Orion asked, while Shen looked back with an uncertain expression._

_"Are you guys sure about this, I mean its not like we have permission."_

_"It's fine Shen, me and Orion have flown together lots of times. I wouldn't agree to this if I thought for a second that we couldn't do this easily." Nightracer replied with an encouraging tone, but the Turian was not buying it._

_"So your not going along with this because Orion's your Boyfriend?" he asked in a matter-of-fact way, earning surprised looks from all three friends, who were taken back by his question._

_"Shen?" Quickstrike asked back, while Orion and Nightracer just stood there, still in shock._

_"Look, I had to ask the question. Because...I mean if we do this then we will be taking one hell of a risk. Flying a craft without a license while also underage, our parents would kill us." Shen said back in a calm and honest way, that immediately made the others feel a bit easier._

_"I understand your concerns Shen, but we do have our training passes ad their range does go from here to the city." Orion said while showing bringing up the license details on his holo-tool._

_"Yes but they are only valid during the day, which ends in another twenty five minutes." Nightracer added, earning a nod from her Boyfriend._

_"So we better get moving then, all aboard." the Bot replied as he pressed a button on his holo-tool, opening the hatch on the shuttle._

Once on board, Shen and Quickstrike realised that this shuttle was not like the standard ones that they were used too as Orion and Nightracer sat down in the pilot and co-pilot seats and activated their holo-interfaces that lit up with a blue glow.

" _Right then, lets get this show on the road." the Bot replied as he fired up the engines, gaining nervous glances from both his friends who had took their seats behind them, feeling the power vibrating though the vessel around them._

" _No need for those faces guys, your in safe hands here." the Femme smiled back before suddenly the shuttle lifted off the ground and then soared up into the sky._

" _Alright, we are on our way." Orion said as the others looked out of the shuttle's canopy at the brown rocky landscape which reminded Quickstrike of the Colorado Plateau back on Earth, which he visited a lot with his parents. They lived twenty five miles south of the area in a small town of Kayenta, and it was happy life that they were living._

" _We should be reaching our destination in just several minutes." Orion said back as Shen got up off his seat and stood over Nightracer, who gave him a curious expression._

" _What are you doing?"_

" _Well we have time for one song before we land right?" the Turian said as he scrolled through the radio stations on the holo-interface in front of him and the Femme._

" _Because unfortunately neither the Geth or the Quarians have that much taste In music." he added, earning a smile from Quickstrike._

" _Yeah, I mean have you heard Aunt Tali singing…..ugh. My ears are still recovering from that experience." Orion joked, earning an annoyed look from Shen._

" _Hey, that's my Mom your talking about…." he said back before going quiet for a moment._

"… _but your right."_

_"So are you going to pick a station then? Or just keep getting in my way." Nightracer said as she glared at the Turian, who ignored her and scrolled down the list on the holo-screen before stopping on one._

" _There, that one will do. Activating now." Shen replied before a song burst onto the shuttle's speakers, instantly gaining smiles from Orion and Quickstrike._

" _Turn it up." the blonde bot called as the trio started bobbing their heads to the song._

' _Heaven only knows what you might find…Dare - dare to believe that you can survive, you hold the future in your hand…'_

_As the song carried on, Nightracer merely shook her head before giving a loving gaze to Orion._

" _You do love your rock music." she said, gaining a smile back from the bot as they all just enjoyed the song as it moved on to another verse just as the shuttle was flying over a region not unlike the grand canyon._

" _So is Razor Canyon anything like the one below us now?" Shen asked as he looked down at the area._

" _A little, but this one is a slightly wider canyon to Razor which takes its name from the fact that the rock-like structure of the canyon walls can rip a ship in two." the Femme replied, earning wide-eyed looks from both the Turian and Quickstrike._

" _And you two will be flying it soon…..wow! You must be really good." Shen said back._

" _If we had more time, I could give you guys a preview by flying through this canyon." Orion replied, just as the song's chorus was about to start. But then both Orion and Nightracer's eyes widened when a Geth transport suddenly appeared from behind a monadnock and flew directly in front of them._

" _Look out!" the femme screamed as Orion reacted instantly by pulling up the shuttle, with it narrowly missing the transport's hull by mere metres as it flew up and over. The Geth on board the other ship panicked as they watched the shuttle fly away._

" _Emergency, emergency!" one cried out as it's single optic stayed fixed on the Teens shuttle._

_Meanwhile everyone on the shuttle breathed a sigh of relief as Quickstrike got up and patted his cousin on his shoulder._

" _Great flying Orion, for a second there I thought we were gonna be toast." he said with a smile, earning a similar expression from the young Darby._

" _You don't think they identified us do you?" Shen said with a hint of worry in his voice._

" _No, but it wasn't as if that collision was our fault. The transport just appeared out of nowhere." Nightracer replied while the young Darby kept his attention on flying the shuttle with his cousin standing over him as the song continued to play out on the radio._

" _We should be well away by the time those Geth report it in right?"_

" _I don't know Quickstrike, we aren't exactly flying the tourist route back to the city." Orion said back, earning glances from Nightracer and Shen._

" _What?" the Turian replied._

" _What he said." the Femme added as she gestured at Shen._

" _I said I would get us back to the city quickly, but we couldn't exactly fly back the safe way now, could we. We all the patrols in that area, we could easily be caught, so I decided to take us through the restricted area." the Bot replied, making the Turian's eyes widen in surprise._

" _You mean we are in more trouble now than if we had just flown back the safe way?"_

" _Look, I am flying us at an altitude that keeps us from being detected by the Geth/Quarian sensors in this area, and I doubt that transport even had a chance to report us."_

_Nightracer was about to say something before her attention was caught by a flashing object appearing on the shuttle's sensor screen._

" _Ugh, I think you might be wrong there Orion. Because our sensors say that a Geth gunship is approaching our rear."_

_And with that explanation from the femme and even though they could not see the back of the shuttle, Quickstrike and Shen looked back with worried expressions on their faces._

" _Oh Scrap!" the blonde bot said just as the rock song entered another verse._

_The larger gunship began gaining on the shuttle as a Geth voice spoke over the inter-com._

" _Unidentified shuttle, we demand you land now!"_

_Shen began to panic as the synthesized voice blared out of the speakers._

" _By the spirits! If they catch us, our parents are gonna kill us." he said, making Quickstrike place a hand on his shoulder in support._

" _Only if they catch us, right Orion?" the Bot said, earning a nod from his cousin._

" _Right, buckle up guys. I am taking us into the canyon." he said and as everyone did just that, he brought the shuttle into a sharp descent as it flew down at speed into the canyon, with the gunship in close pursuit as they both flew through the weaving-like shaped ravine._

" _You do know that it will catch up to us eventually." Nightracer said as she saw the gunship closing on them on her holo-screen._

" _Yeah, but I am hoping that this canyon's width will get small enough for just our shuttle." Orion replied as he brought the shuttle around a bend, bringing them out into a much wider part of the ravine._

" _You were saying." Shen said as he pointed out at the now much wider canyon._

" _Ni, put everything we have into the engines." Orion said, ignoring his panicking friend._

" _That will only buy us about twenty more seconds." the Femme said back as she rerouted the power, giving the shuttle a sudden burst of speed._

" _Yeah, but there is something ahead that might just give us an advantage." the young Darby replied as the others looked to what he meant, their eyes widening at the very sight of it._

" _That hole in cliff up ahead." the Turian exclaimed, earning a raised eye brow from Nightracer._

" _Its an extinct lava tube, but sensors say that it is barely big enough for the shuttle. Plus we don't know where it leads."_

" _If you guys have any better ideas, then you have about ten seconds to tell me." Orion said as he corrected their course and headed straight for the tube's opening. But everyone went quiet just as the Geth called again._

" _Cease your evasive action and land now!"_

" _Think again, everybody hang on!" Orion said back as he flew the shuttle directly at the opening._

" _No, no, no, no ,no, Noooooooooo!" Shen shouted as the shuttle flew directly into the lava tube, making the gunship slam on the breaks and stop before slamming into the cliff side. Meanwhile everyone on the shuttle held their breath, Shen was physically trembling as Orion kept his cool and focused on flying them through the small lava tube, the rocky walls zooming past the canopy of the shuttle as a white light appeared ahead of them, getting closer and closer before the shuttle then flew out the other side just as the song's final chorus began._

' _Dare - dare to believe that you can survive….'_

_Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Shen just collapsed in his chair._

" _I think I nearly wet myself back there." he said with a sigh as both Nightracer and Quickstrike high fived before turning their attention to Orion._

" _That was incredible flying back their Cuz, I don't think that Gunship will catch us up now."_

" _What did I tell you. My Orion's the best…..but I can do that too, just so you know" the Femme replied as she looked at Orion proudly and teasingly._

" _Yeah, so you say." the Bot said back in a similar manner, before turning his attention back to his flying._

" _So guys, should be back in sixty seconds." he added as they could see the city before them through the shuttle's canopy._

_"Home in time for supper." Quickstrike quipped as their shuttle flew toward the city as the sun set behind the mountains in the distance.  
_

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

_The shuttle landed on the LZ at one of the ports that surrounded the city just as the night started to expand across the sky, pushing back the red hue and making the stars visible once again.  
Everyone got up from their seats as Orion opened the hatch via a button on his holo-interface, while Nightracer turned round and helped Shen to his feet._

_"You still feeling unwell?" she asked as the Turian placed his hand on his stomach, earning a noise from it.  
"I guess I am just not ready for that kind of aggressive flying." he replied, earning a curious look from Orion which he did notice._

_"Not that I can't appreciate such fine handling of a shuttle, and had it not been for your flying, we would all be in serious trouble right now. Thanks." he said earning a nod from his friend._

_"Unfortunately, isn't for everyone...but your welcome Shen."_

_"I will always agree with my Father on this subject, if we Turians were meant to fly then the spirits would have given us wings." the Turian said back with a smile, gaining Quickstrike's attention as he stood by the open hatch._

_"But there are plenty of Turians who are pilots.." he began to say before Shen cut him off._

_"Have you met them? Because I have and I can say without a doubt that they are crazy, I mean really gone in the head." the Turian said as he gestured at his head brain with a finger in a circling motion._

_"Well I guess that means Ni and myself are crazy too." Orion replied as both teen pilots stared at Shen, who then waved his hands in front of himself in a defensive gesture._

_"No, you guys are cool. But I can say that because I have known you for like forever. But other Turians who do fly...stay away is all I will say."_

_"Well can we get moving, because I am getting hungry." the Femme said, gaining a mischievous smile from Orion.  
"Yeah, you don't want to see how Ni acts when her blood sugar level gets too low." he replied with a wink, to which Nigtracer replied with a half-hearted punch on his arm._

_"Oww." the Bot replied as he feigned injury, earning an eye roll from the Femme.  
"Lets go flyboy." she said back with a smile, earning a similar smile from the Bot._

_And with that the four teens then climbed out of the shuttle and took in the cool evening air that was there to meet them._

_"Well how does old saying go, 'red sky at night, shepherd's delight. Red sky at morning, Shepherd's warning'." Quickstrike said, gaining a knowing look from Shen._

_"That doesn't really apply to Rannoch since every night and morning has a red sky."_

_"Your ruining my moment of being knowledgeable Shen." the blonde bot replied with an annoyed tone, as both Nightracer and Orion chuckled._

_"Yeah, you don't want to do that Shen." The young Darby said back._

_"Because Quckstrike doesn't get many of them." the Femme added._

_"Ha, Ha. Funny guys, can we go get some food now?" Quickstrike replied as he tried to push the focus away from himself. The others replied with more laughter before the group began to walk away from the shuttle, but their happy moment soon ended when Nightracer's eyes fell on three people walking towards them from the terminal._

_"Oh scrap." she said, earning confused looks from the others._

_"What is it Ni?" Orion asked, making the femme point at the three Adults ahead and the moment the Teens saw them, they hearts/sparks sank._

_"Oh scrap... Indeed." Shen replied as ahead of them were Garrus, Ironhide and Jack Darby, and none of them looked happy in the least._

_"You guys look like you have had a good time?" Ironhide said as the teens joined their Parents._

_"Tell us, was that before or after you took a shuttle for a joyride... and without permission?" Garrus added._

_"Or... And this is the best bit, nearly hit a Geth transport and evaded a Gunship that was just trying to get you to land."_ _Ironhide finished as the pair stared daggers at their kids. Orion though glanced up at his Dad, who had stayed quiet the whole time his friends had spoken. And the young bot could see the disappointment in Jack's eyes as he just looked back at his son in silence._

_"Hey, it was that transport's fault for coming out of a blind spot. Orion's quick thinking and skill saved us." Nightracer spoke out, surprising everyone. But Ironhide wasn't going to let that fly, even if she wasn't his daughter._

_"Don't give me attitude just because your mother isn't here. I have already informed her of what has happened and will be dropping you off as Quickstrike and I head home." the Bot replied, making the young Femme quieten up._

_"That incident would not have happened if you had not taken the shuttle in the first place." he added as the four teens suddenly felt small in the presence of their elders._

_"Shen, lets go." Garrus said in stern tone, making the younger Turian walk away from the others while hanging his head in shame._

_"See you later guys." he said, while Ironhide looked at both Quickstrike and Nightracer._

_"You two, come on." he said, making the femme look at Orion with a sorrowful expression._

_"Sorry." she whispered, earning a nod from her boyfriend as she took his hand in hers for a second and gently squeezed it before letting go and walking off with Quickstrike and his Dad. and suddenly there was just Orion and his Father and it was now that Jack decided to speak._

_"Lets go home." was all that he said, and that made His son feel even more nervous._

_The flight home in the family shuttle had been the most quiet that Orion and his Dad had every undertaken, with Jack just focusing on piloting the shuttle and his son just looking to the ground. The journey lasted less than an hour from Rannoch to Earth, with the shuttle landing outside the family home just as the sun was beginning to set over the ocean view that greeted the pair as they stepped out of the vehicle._

_Ravage was waiting by the porch and soon ss he laid eyes on Orion, he ran up to the young bot all excited. Even after all these years the old feline still had the energy of a young beast and if he was feeling up to it, Orion would have shown his pal some well deserved attention. But the Bot just looked down at Ravage with his glum expression, making the feline stop and tilt it's head with a confused expression._

_"Sorry." Orion said as he walked past, earning a whine from the feline as it slumped onto it's belly._   
_"Not tonight Ravage." Jack said as he followed his son, gaining another whine as both he and his son walked onto the porch and then into the house._

_As soon as he was inside, Orion took off his shoes and jacket and put them away. He did not look up at all, concentrating solely on these tasks as he knew who was waiting directly ahead at the connection between he hallway and the living room._

_"Are you not going to look at me Orion?" a female voice said in a firm tone, gaining the bot's attention as he looked up from the shoe rack to see his Mom, Arcee standing there looking back at him with a sorely disappointed expression on her face. All Orion could do was glance back at her every now and then, as his mother's staring hurt him inside._

_"I am sorry." he said in a faint voice._

_"What?" Jack replied as he walked ahead of his Son and stood beside his Spark-mate._

_"...Could you speak up, because we didn't quite catch that." he added as he gestured to Arcee while never taking his glaring eyes off Orion who still felt very small in before his parents._

_"I am sorry." he said again, this time with a bit more volume to it. But though Arcee's expression softened ever so slightly, Jack's remained the same._

_"And I guess that makes up for nearly getting your friends killed, hmm?" the Prime responded with a hint of sarcasm mixed in with the anger in his voice._

_"Why did you do it Orion? Why did you take that shuttle instead of waiting for the transport..." Arcee said in a more calmer tone than her spark-mate was using, though Orion could still feel the disappointment she had in her voice._

_"'...yeah, like you have done 'so' many times before today?" Jack finished, earning the ever so slightest glance from Arcee before she returned her attention to their Son._

_Orion looked to the ground and took a deep breath before returning his attention to them both, a resolute look on his face._

_"Because I was tired of waiting for that transport and ...because I knew I could get us there quicker."_

_"So you thought what...that just because your one of the best 'trainee' pilots under Jetfire's tutelage, that that gave you the right to take a shuttle and fly it through restricted space." Jack replied with a sting in his voice, making, Do I even have to mention the fact that you nearly collided with a Geth transport or your evading a Geth gunship." he added while Orion hung his head._

_"And yet you mention it anyway." he said under his breath._

_"What did you say?" Jack replied while Arcee placed a hand on his chest, giving the Prime a look that said 'back off a little'._

_"So I guess it completely escapes your attention that the Geth transport was completely in the wrong itself, with the way that it was travelling and that it was down to my skill that a collision was averted." Orion snapped back, regaining his father's attention immediately as he stepped toward his son, ignoring Arcee's silent plea._

_"And there in lies the problem, you think that because your gifted that it puts you above the rules. That they don't even apply to you... I bet you didn't even think that you were in the wrong when you lead that gunship in a merry chase that nearly lead to the crew of that ship, nearly crashing into a cliff-face whole you performed a death defying stunt to impress your friends."_

_"I did what I did to keep us out of trouble." Orion spat back._

" _Well how did that work out for you? Because you still ended up in a lot trouble, since a Quarian/Geth ground patrol saw the last part of that show and then reported it directly to their superiors and then to me." Jack said before looking away from his son as he took a deep breath, and tried to calm down somewhat._

" _You know I thought, I…..we taught you better than that." he added while gesturing again to Arcee who was still quiet, observing both the Men in her life while they argued, as Jack started again._

" _..I mean when I was your age, I never would have taken such a risk….and with my own friends also. What were you thinking?"_

_It was at this point, the anger that was boiling inside of Orion just exploded. Since he had heard this same story for nearly five years now and he had finally had enough._

" _Oh here we go again, the old 'when I was your age' story. I don't know if you have noticed, but my life is nothing like yours was…..we are just nothing alike!" he said before he even had time to think what he had just said, making his Dad's eyes widen in shock at what he had just heard. Then they narrowed at him again as Jack clenched his fist._

" _Why you…." he began to say before Arcee suddenly jumped in._

" _Orion, go to your room!" she said, making both Men look at her in surprise._

" _What?" they both replied in sync._

" _You are hereby grounded from now until the day you graduate for the Academy, you will only be allowed outside these grounds for flight school and your studies. You will not spend time with your friends outside of these activities. Do I make myself clear?" the Femme added as she stared at Orion with a stern expression._

" _Yes…..Mom." he answered sheepishly while Jack was still in shock._

" _Then go to bed."_

_Orion nodded and turned around somberly before slowly making his way up stairs._

" _And you…we need to talk." Arcee then said to Jack, motioning him to join her in the living room. Though neither parent had noticed that Orion had stopped at the top of the stairs as they went out of view and began eavesdropping._

_"What is going on with you Jack? I mean you were really tearing Orion a new one."_

_"Arcee, after what he did today, what else could I do. I mean this isn't the first time either...but definitely the worst."  
"Jack, what Orion did was so very wrong. I know that, but your handling of it is getting out of hand."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I mean that for the last five years, you have really cme down upon Orion for even the littlest irresponsible action. In fact your not even letting him enjoy what is left of his teenage years. It's almost as if you want him to grow up to quickly."_

_"Arcee, we all grow up. That's life and it is time Orion did it too."_

_"No, there's more to it than that. I remember you saying that since you grew up without your own Father, this meant you had to grow up quicker and help your Mom, giving up on a lot of your childhood in the meantime. And on the day that Orion came into our lives, you swore that you would ensure that he'd not end up the same._

_For a long moment Jack went quiet as did Arcee, making it hard for the younger Darby to listen from his spot at the top of the stairs._

_"I did...but?"_

_"But what Jack? Talk to me...what is it that you aren't telling me?"_

_The Prime went quiet again for a moment before breathing a sigh._

_"Arcee...I can't say." he replied, gaining a sigh from the femme that was somewhat less calm than his own._

_"Okay, lets try this another way then shall we. Because I have had enough of this tip-toeing around whatever issue you've been concealing from me."_

_"Arcee, I really can't say..."_

_"Serious face Jack! Tell me!"_

_"But I swore.."_

_"To who?"_

_"The Aeons! I swore to the Aeons." the Prime replied, that last part really earning Orion's attention as he sat on the top step of the stairs._

_"What? when?"_

_"Like you said, it was five years ago. I can't go into exact details, but lets just say that the Aeons showed me something.."_

_"Showed you what?" Arcee asked back, the tone of her voice far less hostile than before._

_"Showed me something...something that has to come to pass."_

_"And what was that?" the femme asked and so Jack talked and talked while Orion sat at the top of the stairs and listened intently, his eyes growing wider with every word that he heard._

_A few hours later and Orion was then sitting on roof of the house, next to his open window and looking up at the star filled night sky. Down on the ground, Ravage was sitting in one spot and looking up at the roof, as if sensing that Orion was there. The bot's parents had already gone to bed at this time of the night, but he found that he could not sleep as the conversation, or more importantly what he heard his Dad tell his mother was playing through his mind repeatedly, like a endless loop. And its details had worried Orion immensely._

_'It can't be true, it has to be a mistake.' he thought as he continued to look skywards, praying that what he had heard was not so._

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Suddenly everything went black again before Orion opened his eyes and looked at Liara, who was looking back with an understanding expression.

"So...now you know right?" he asked, gaining a nod from the Asari.

"Yes...I saw and felt everything you did in those memories, and I can now understand why you and your Father haven't seen eye to eye for years."

"But now I guess you also understand why I have never taken any of the command promotions that I have been offered during my career." Orion replied somberly.

"I guess I would be concerned too, if I heard such information about my future. I take it things with your Mother got better? " Liara said back

"Yes, my Mom was still angry…..no, more disappointed with my actions. But after a month or so, things between us healed, it was with my Dad that ties were forever separated." he replied earning a nod from Liara, but then she noticed Orion looking back at the door at the far side of the room again.

"What I don't understand, is why are you constantly looking at your Father's study?" the Asari added, regaining Orion's attention.

"I am sorry Liara, I guess that even after so many years being at odds with my Dad…I miss how things used to be between us. And it has also been a very long time since I last went in that room." he replied with a somber face, this earned a slight smile from Liara as she offered him her hand.

"Then why don't you have a look, I will go with you." she said in a calm and warm manner, but the young Darby shook his head in response.

"We can't. Ever since my Dad and I started arguing, he has always locked the door and never let anyone in there, not even my Mom."

Liara though ignored Orion's words and walked over to the door and pressed the control panel beside it, which to the bot's surprise…..made the door open and grant them access.

"If that is the case, then why is the door unlocked?" the Asari asked as Orion joined her and together they entered the Prime's study.

The room itself looked like any other kind of study, there were a few shelves on the walls, a cupboard and a bookcase. As well as a large desk and chair, that had a computer terminal on it. But what Liara noticed was that there were also a few photos on the wall, ones that were of Orion that were not among the family ones in the living room.

"When were these taken?" she asked as Orion took a closer look at them.

"This one was after my first flying lesson with Jetfire, and that one was when I passed my blue belt qualification with Master Prowl. And this one here is the day I became an Autobot." the bot said as he looked at each photo, Liara gained his attention again.

"Looks like you were never far from his thoughts Orion, even during the last few years."

"I don't know what to say, we have been at each others throats for over ten years now. I'm finding it hard to think that he could ever be proud of what I have done in that time." Orion replied as he continued to stare wide eyed at the photos.

"He is your Father, of course he would be..." the Asari said as she looked around, before an object hanging on the wall behind them caught her eye.

"What's that?" she asked, making the bot turn around and see the said object which was a large Cybertronian long-sword.

"I am sure I have seen this before or something similar." the Asari added as she walked up to it for a further examination.

"That's the Star Saber, a blade that only a Prime or one that has the potential to be a Prime may wield. It was originally the weapon of the original Prime called Prima, and its last owner was the late Optimus Prime." Orion replied as he joined Liara's side and looked at the blade.

"I remember seeing your Father wielding a weapon that looked similar to this back when we worked together during the Reaper War."

"That was the holo-Star Saber, it was holo-blade that the Prime Armour granted my Dad to use, since the Star Saber itself belonged to Optimus." the bot explained as Liara brushed her fingers against the long blade.

"But why doesn't your Father use it now, since he is the Autobot Prime now?"

"Dad was thinking about it for a time, but around the same time that we began fighting and generally not getting on, all of a sudden said that the blade was not meant for him and that he was only a caretaker of it until the 'one' that it was meant for would need it." Orion said, earning a curious look from the Asari.

"Oh, that's cryptic." she replied before she looked at the blade with a thoughtful expression.

"Wait a minute, after what you let me see in your mind with your Father and everything he said to your Mother about you. Could it be that your the one this blade was meant for?"

Orion stared at Liara, his eyes widening as he thought about what she just said.

"After everything we have talked about here and what I let you see when we melded just now, how can you possibly think that I am the one he meant. Especially with how cryptic that sentence was." he replied in a concerned tone, but Liara just responded with a slight smile, one that she hoped would disarm the bot a little.

"It kind of makes sense, I mean I know after seeing and feeling your thoughts that you don't think you are worthy of such a fate like the one your Dad said is ahead of you, but maybe that is exactly why you are."

Orion though shook his head as he looked back at her.

"No, I am really not that kind of guy. I mean I am reckless, impatient and stubborn. I have made more mistakes in my life than most and I really don't want that kind of responsibility."

"Why? I mean I kind of already know, but I want to hear you say it aloud. So tell me why you don't think you are worthy." Liara said back with a firm tone, but with an understanding look in her eye as she stared back at the Bot. Orion suddenly felt kind of embarrassed at the way she was looking at him, so he turned his attention to the floor.

"Liara, how would you feel if you found out that you were going to join a lineage of great people, especially two that became literally legends due to the deeds that they accomplished. I mean my Dad saved the entire galaxy from the threat of Unicron and his Reapers, before playing a part in creating a great and powerful Galactic Alliance. And Optimus Prime before him, well he needs no introduction or recalling of the great deeds that were done by him. I just don't think that I have what it takes to be that kind of person, because what if I did try but the. Have it all blow up in my face. I mean that incident on Rannoch all those years ago is proof enough that I am not Prime material."

Liara felt heart ache for Orion as he looked down to the ground with a hurt and saddened expression, so she put her hand on his shoulder in a supportive gesture.

"Orion, look at me." she said in a soft voice. The bot slowly raised his head until their blue eyes met, and he felt a sudden calmness come over him as he almost lost himself in the dark blue of hers.

"Orion, you may not be the perfect paragon that you think is needed to be a Prime. But I know in my heart that you are still a good person, who cares greatly for his friends and family. Your also the type of person who will never give up, no matter how dire the circumstances."

As Liara spoke, Orion remained quiet as he listened intently.

"All of this I know from spending time with you and also from what I sensed while we melded, that is all the evidence I need to believe that you are exactly that which you think is impossible…..worthy."

The Asari then took a step in front of the young Darby as she then gestured to the blade.

"But I guess there is only one sure way for you to know….so pick up the Star Saber."

Orion looked at her in surprise yet again, funny how many times she has made him do that today.

"Liara, I…" he stammered, but Liara just looked at him.

"This is the only way that you will know for sure, either you can lift it or you can't. One way or another, you will finally know. So do it."

The Bot could see in the Asari's eyes that she would not budge unless he at least attempted it, so he took a step toward the Star Saber as it hung on the wall and reached out and grasped his hand around it's hilt. Once his grip was firm, he prepared to lift it off the wall, knowing that in fact that he would not even make it move an inch.

But then his eyes widened in shock as he effortlessly lifted the Star Saber off the wall and held it in front of himself with both hands around its hilt. He looked over to Liara and saw that she too was wide eyed at the sight before her, but she smiled as their eyes met.

"I think you have your answer Orion."

The Bot returned the smile, though with a nervousness to it that Liara could understand as she watches him staring back at the blade. But then as if the whole situation was not already surprising enough, the Star Saber began to glow a light blue.

"Why's it doing that?" she asked, but Orion would not answer as he stood there and stared at the glowing blade like he was in some kind of trance.

"Orion?" the Asari asked, before noticing that his eyes were now glowing too, with the same light blue light.

"Dad?" he said out loud.

" _Hello son._ " a familiar voice spoke back as Orion found himself standing in a white spot-light, which was completely surrounded by darkness. He looked over to see another spot-light appear in front of him and reveal his Father, Jackson Prime before him.

"Dad..."

" _If you are seeing this message now, then that means you now have the Star Saber in your possession._ "

"Message?" Orion asked, but he did not get a response from his Dad who then carried on talking.

" _Now I do not know why or even when this has occurred, but I want you to know that I am glad that it did. I want to apologise so very much for the way that I have been treating you in the last several years, I know that this would mean even more for both of us that I do this in person. But I also know that you would not give me the time of day to do this, and I wouldn't blame you._ " Jack said, earning an understanding expression from his Son as he listened.

" _But there is a reason behind my behavior though even now as I look back, I find that I was seriously out of line. You see I had something happen to me, something that I can not explain fully. This is because I made a vow to the Aeons that I would not divulge the very things I saw at that time, because no one should know the details of their future. But I still had to ensure that what I saw will come to pass, so I have instead left you something, something that will give you an idea or what is to come. Plus I know that even while you now stand there with the very Star Saber in your hands, that you will still have doubts. You are as stubborn as both myself and your Mother, but what I have left should remedy that. You will find it inside a lock-box that is connected to the underside of my desk, the combination code is sixteen, eighteen, nine, thirteen and five._ "

Orion nodded as he took in the information that his Dad was passing on to him.

" _Now it is time for me to go, but I want you to know that despite my behavior to you...I am in fact proud, so very proud of the man you have become. For I have kept a close eye on you and I can understand your reluctance with certain situations that have come upon you. But your choices have ended up shaping you into a better soldier than and like I said, I am proud of you son. So I Love you Orion, See you when I see you._ " Jack then said before he faded away, as Orion felt a tear run down his cheek just as he found himself back in the study with Liara staring back at him in confusion.

"I love you too Dad." he said softly before he was suddenly hit by bout of fatigue which caused him to drop to his knees as he breathed heavily, while using the Star Saber to keep himself upright.

"What happened?" Liara asked as she knelt down beside the Bot.

"I was given a message, through the blade." he replied between breathes.

"It was your Father right?" she asked, earning a nod from Orion.

"Yeah and you were right...about my Dad, thank you." he said back with a warm smile, which made the Asari blush as she mirrored his.

"I know...and your more than welcome Orion."

The Bot nodded before turning his attention to his Dad's desk, getting back to his feet and walking over to it.

"What are you doing now?" Liara asked with a curious tone as she stood and watched the young Darby placed the blade on the desk, then bent down and reached under it as if searching for something.

"My Dad said he left something here for me, I've just got to..." he said before a loud click could be heard, gaining a smirk from him.

"...Found it." Orion added as he pulled out a metallic box and then placed it on the desk next to the Star-saber.

"Whats in it?" the Asari asked as she joined his side, while the bot punched in the code on the keypad.

"No idea.." he replied as there was another click-like sound and the box unlocked itself. He then removed the lid and he then felt his spark jump into his throat as he recognised the object inside the box.

"By the Allspark.." was all he could say as he looked down at the glass panel that was nestled on a black silk like cloth, which had Cybertronian lettering scrolling down its width.

"What is that?" Liara asked as Orion picked up the glass panel that was the size of a page.

"Its...a page from the 'Covenant of Primus', a book of the Primes that contains prophecies of the future."

Liara's eyes widened as she comprehended what Orion just said while taking in all the detail of the page.

"Really? Can you read it?"

"From what I remember from school, there are only two types of people who can read the Covenant. Those that have trained themselves to decipher the code, like Alpha Trion. And those that the prophecies are about."

As he said this, his eyes widened in amazement as certain letters stopped scrolling down and formed words and those words formed a passage, a passage that then translated into English. Orion looked at the page and read it, while Liara could not see it at all.

_'A Prime will rise and connect the past to the future, thereby completing the 'Trinity of Primes', which will defend all of creation against the heart of Darkness._ '

Orion then went quiet as he stood there and looked down at the page, the prophecy repeating itself in his mind. Liara though looked at him with a concerned expression.

"Orion, Orion are you all right?"

And suddenly as if those words had woken him up, Orion placed the page back in the box and picked up the Star-Saber from the table and walked out of the room without saying a word. Liara followed as her concerned look changed to one of confusion.

"Orion, whats going on? Where are you going?" she asked as he opened the back-door and stepped into the yard behind the house.

"I want to see what this can do." he simply replied while entering the large area between the four holo-emitters, he then stabbed the Star-Saber into the ground and the activated his holo-tool.

"Computer, load up Jackson Prime 'Husk' battle scenario level intermediate."

Then suddenly the air inside of the holo-emitters began to sparkle as Liara stopped on the steps and looked at the bot as he looked back and smiled.

"I have watched my Dad use this hundreds of times, what better place to try out the Star-Saber." he said before noticing that his holo-tool was beeping at him, so he pulled the blade out of the ground and took a defensive stance.

"Enable."

Suddenly several Husks materialized out of nowhere, attacking the Bot instantly. But he simply cut them down, one after another with the mighty sword. One of the Husks rushed Orion from his right but he kicked it in the chest, making it fall back before slicing it's head off. The defeated Husk then turned to pixels as it disappeared, but the young Darby was not given a moment to breath as another Husk launched itself at him from his front. The Bot then swung the blade down and sliced the hologram in half, both sides falling away and turning to pixels while he turned his attention to the other Husks that were readying themselves to attack.

Orion couldn't say that he was entirely comfortable with such a large sword, even one that felt as light to him as one of the training staff's he used during Master Prowl's lessons when he was younger. But the other Husks attacked and one by one, Orion took them out of the game, leaving pixels in the air where they used to stand.

As this was happening, Liara had taken a seat on the steps of the back door and watched in silent amazement at the young Darby's fighting prowess. Though she had seen him fight before, it was still a sight to behold from one so young when compared to herself and other Asari who had spent centuries perfecting their fighting styles. Suddenly one of the newest wave of Husks leapt onto Orion's back, but he was ready for it and used the creature's inertia to throw it into the others, knocking them down to the ground like bowling pins.

The Bot then smiled as an idea came to mind, so just as the Husks charged at him. Orion concentrated and spun the blade around him before slashing the air in front of him, but then went wide-eyed with confusion when nothing happened.

' _What the…_? _'_ he thought before suddenly feeling like something had smashed into his face, as the Bot found himself hitting the floor hard.

"Orion!" Liara shouted as she stood up on the step and looked to see her friend on his front, the Husks standing around him as though they were waiting for him to make a move.

The young Man then got onto his hands and knees with a grimace before giving the Asari a thumbs up to show he was alright, earning a sigh of relief from the blue woman as she looked on. Orion then looked at the Star-Saber as it rested on the ground next to him.

_'Stupid Orion! Your not a Prime yet, the saber won't let you use it to its full potential because you haven't earned the right yet.'_  he thought as he took a breath, then he took hold of the sword by its hilt and got on his knees, holding the blade of the saber with his free hand. The Husks just stood around him and watched, as did Liara.

'What's he doing?' she thought.

But Orion closed his eyes and concentrated on his thoughts on the relic of the Primes in his hand.

_'I have never believed in destiny, rather I would prefer to forge my own path in life. Though t seems that destiny has other plans and that my life is to become intertwined with that of the Primes, but that is not important right now, for at this moment a mad man has taken my parents hostage and is currently unleashing chaos upon the innocents of our galaxy. So please...help me to end the threat that he poses and rescue my parents, and...I will leave it to you to decide if I am worthy of the destiny that is before me.'_

Suddenly the Star Saber began to shift and change its form right there in the young bot's hands, as a slight smile grew on his face. Once the transformation had ended, gone was the overly large long-sword that the Star-Saber once was, and in its place was what could only be described as a hybrid of a Cybertronian blade and an Japanese Katanna.

Orion then gripped the new blade by its hilt and it glowed a faint blue, making his smile even wider as he looked up at the Husks staring down at him.

_'Thank you._ ' he thought before launching to his feet and swiping at all the holograms in one swooping action, leaving nothing but pixels in his wake. Liara stared in complete shock as Orion systematically took down one Husk after another with the new looking Star Saber, holding it with both hands around its hilt. But then two husks attacked from either side of the Bot, so he switched to one hand on the saber as the activated his holo-armblades with his other and swiped at one of the two, taking it's head off before side kicking the other.

This made the hologram stumble backwards as Orion then sliced across its chest with the saber, making it grimace before spinning around so that his back was to the creature. And then with both hands on the Star Saber's hilt which he had flipped around, he then stabbed back into the Husk, right through its heart.

For what felt like a long moment he stood there in mid-action with the Husk impaled on the Star Saber, before he then took a step forward and withdrew the blade from the Husk who then fell backwards and exploded into a cloud of pixels. Liara took a step toward the holo-field as a score appeared on the outer edges in front of her and looked like a screen.

'Congratulations, a new time record and second place on the scoreboard.'

"Orion, that was amazing." the Asari said as the Bot walked out of the holo-field which then deactivated, shutting down the holo-emitters again.

"That was definitely something." he replied in equal amazement while he looked down at the Star Saber.

"So I guess you must have a destiny then." Liara said with a half smile, gaining a nod from the Bot who returned the smile.

"It looks that way." he said before his face went serious and he looked out towards the ocean.

"What is it?"

"We should head back and help with the repairs to the Normandy, we need to get back out there, find the Predacons and stop them." the Bot replied.

"And we will, but you heard what Rodimus said. The ship will still be in the drydock for another few days, so how about that tour you said you would give me. I would like to see the whole area where you grew up at least, I mean even future Primes need to a breather every now and then...right?" she asked with a smile, making the Orion's expression soften into a similar smile.

"Your right, let me just put the saber back indoors.." he replied as the two headed for the house.

"...and I know I have said this already, but thank you." he added in a warm tone, which made the Asari blush in return.

"Don't mention it she said with a radiant smile as they entered the house.

 


	17. Chapter 17

"Galvatron!" a commanding but distorted voice called out of the darkness, echoing around the Predacon Leader as he looked around the void that surrounded him.

"Who...who said that?" he called out in a nervous tone, the voice not recognisable to him.

' _Who was that? I could not make it out, but surely it wasn't Megatron._ ' he thought as he stood there in the blackness.

"Galvatron!" it called out once more, but again it was so distorted and without direction, Galvatron could not make out where it originated from. So he began walking through the darkness like a blind man as he reached out ahead of himself with his hands, hoping that he could grasp whatever was calling to him.

"Galvatron, follow my voice." it called out again, but now the Predacon was starting to get agitated.

"How? Where are you?" he answered back with an anger-like tone, as the voice was still echoing around him.

"Who are you?" Galvatron asked as kept looking, but only seeing the black void around him. For a long while there was only silence, while the Predacon Leader stopped in his tracks and waited. But then he received a reply.

"Galvatron, my…."

Suddenly his voice was cut off by a loud beeping that blotted out everything around Galvatron, making his ears burn as he clenched them and fell to his knees. The very sound felt like it was vibrating right through him.

Suddenly he opened his eyes and found himself sitting up on the bed in his quarters aboard the Nemesis, covering his ears with his hands. He looked around frantically and saw that everything was as it was when he had entered the room earlier.

_'It was a dream...'_  the Predacon Leader thought as his attention returned to the beeping sound which was the intercom.

"Galvatron here, what is it?"

"Sorry to cut your rest short Lord Galvatron, but you are required in the CIC." Six-shot replied over the com.  
"I am on my way."

Galvatron then got off the bed and walked over to the door, but then stopped midway and looked over to the book lying on his desk.

'The Covenant of Primus.' he thought as he stared at it for a moment.

' _I must examine the relic more closely, when next I have the opportunity._ '

And then he left the room and headed for the CIC.

A few moments later and the Predacon Leader was among his lieutenants and Terracons in the nerve centre of the Nemesis, looking at the data flowing down the large holo-screen that Six-shot was controlling with his holo-tool.

"As you can see my Lord, after our victory...which was at a heavy cost to our forces..." he said, earning a annoyed stare from the Predacon Leader.

"...the Autobots are still in a weakened and venerable state, with their fleet spread out around the galaxy and many of their ships are not even close to a space bridge. So even though we have few ships now, we can still make significant collateral damage if we perform guerrilla strikes on their other colonies." he continued before Galvatron cut him off abruptly.

"No, that is not what we will do next Six-shot."

Everyone looked at their leader, who turned around and saw their confused expressions.

"uh...my Lord, what would you have us do then?." the con replied, though with a slight questioning tone to his words that annoyed the Predacon even more.

"As you so gracefully pointed out Six-shot..." Galvatron said with the same abandon, while standing over the Lieutenant and staring down at him with his red eyes.

"Our forces have been weakened by 'our' victory over the Autobots, so even though guerrilla tactics would sound like the right course of action. We would still end up losing more ships and troops, and that is something I will not tolerate. If and when our next engagement with the Autobot fleets happens, I wish for us to be on equal terms when it comes to man and fire power."

Everyone else in the room kept quiet as they listened to their master, but that didn't stop Six-shot.

"So...what are we...to do then?"

Galvatron smirked and turned his attention to the holo-screen, hijacking it from the other Con's control with his own holo-tool.

"We are going to regain the strength that we have lost."

"...and how do you propose we do that my Lord?" Six-shot replied as a map of the galaxy appeared on the screen, before zooming into an area at the top half of the map.

"Well, there is only one other alliance in his galaxy that has forces rivaling the Autobots and their Federation." Galvatron added as the screen froze on a space station, that had a fleet of ships orbiting it. Six-shot's eyes widened as he recognised the station and the Alliance it represented, while the others looked on.

"That's Omega! You want to attack the Omega Syndicate."

The Predacon Lord looked over to his subordinate and smiled.

"Yes, that is correct Six-shot. You see I have been studying Omega through the information from the ISF mainframe, and the Syndicate is made up entirely of mercenaries, slavers and freelancers. Their leader, Aria T'Loak maintains control through fear and manipulation..." Galvatron said as the Asari's image appeared on the screen, that was when a familiar voice spoke up behind him.

" _A person after my own spark, she certainly has more to her than you Clone._ "

Galvatron glanced back to see the other Predacons standing behind him and unbeknownst to them, Megatron was there and leaning back against the desk, looking up at the image with a evil grin. Galvatron bit his lip and turned back to the screen, trying to refocus his attention to the task at hand.

"...so if we were to remove her from power and let them see it happen, then they would accept us as their new masters without opposition."

"But, surely there are those who are loyal to this Aria.." Lazerback spoke up, making the Predacon Leader look to him and also notice that Megatron was nodding in agreement with him.

"We will kill all those in her inner circle, that should end any threat of reprisal from Omega's troops. After all, they are without honor and so should be treated as such." Galvatron replied.

"So I take it that once we have gained control of the Omega Syndicate that they will merely be cannon fodder to use against the Autobots?" Six-shot asked, earning a nod from the Predacon Lord.

"They will give us the edge over the Autobots that we require and so will enable us to crush them once and for all, hopefully while they are still disorganised." he said while looking at Six-shot with a knowing stare, one that made the Con feel nervous.

"I can assure you my Lord, even if the Autobots are able to identify where their network is disabled, they do not have any ships in range to find out."

"Well lets make sure of that shall we, because while I will lead the attack on Omega with the Nemesis and three quarters of our remaining fleet, the last quarter will be split up with one half statying here on Cybertron to defend our interests, and the other will join the ships at Omicron and bolster their defences."

"I see, but isn't the Omega Station heavily armed and defended. How are we going to break down their defences, when they can take out any one of or ships with a single shot?" Six-shot asked as he interacted with the holo-screen and brought up the specs of the station for all to see. But then Galvatron reasserted control with his holo-tool, bringing up an attack plan.

"Our ships will keep the enemy fleet busy at the space bridge, meanwhile the Nemesis will jump in close using it's own space bridge and begin systematically disabling weapon placements of Omega. Because this ship has actually been fitted with armour and shields designed to resist the powerful beam weapons of the station. Those same weapons that could cut through our average cruisers with ease." the Predacon Lord said as they watched the screen.

"Also the Nemesis will deploy troops all over Omega with our ground-bridge to ensure that we capture it quickly." He added before turning round to the Predacons standing with him.

"Any questions?"

The others all looked amongst themselves before Blight raised his hand.

"When do we leave?"

"Once Shockblast has birthed the latest batch of Terracons, which will be in five hours time. So lets get started." Galvatron replied, earning nods from then all.

"Dismissed."

As the group dispersed, both Vertebreak and Darksteel stepped toward the Predacon Leader who acknowledged them.

"We are will not let you down Lord Galvatron, it is a honor to serve you." The yellow armoured Con said, earning a nod from his friend.

"Yeah...what he said." Darksteel added.

"My brothers, it is I who should be honored to have such warriors amongst my troops..." Galvatron replied with a smile.

"...For if you fight as well as Shockblast tells me, our enemies will find themselves fearful indeed of our power."

Both Cons nodded before turning away and leaving the room together, as the Predacon was left with the few Terracons manning the CIC's stations.

' _This should be an easy task for my Predacons._ ' he thought before he was rudely interrupted.

"Y _ou even doubt yourself and your troops, what in the pits of Kaon are you? I mean really? Most of the time you come off as a poor imitation of myself, by doing things that I would have done...and nowhere near as skilfully. Then you do a complete reversal and question yourself, you make me sick to my spark._ " Megatron spat as he stood beside the Predacon Lord, who gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly while trying to ignore him.

' _Can't I have a moment to myself?_ ' he thought, earning a smile from the Decepticon Leader.

" _I heard that...and...no you can't._ " he replies sarcastically, before he was then cut off by Shockblast's face appearing on the console screen beside Galvatron.

"Lord Galvatron, I have successfully sped up the Terracons incubation time, meaning that they will now take only four hours to fully mature, instead of five." he said in a cold and emotionless tone.

"Thank you Shockblast, continue to keep me apprised of their situation."

"It would be only logical my Liege, Shockblast out." the Con replied, then as quickly as the image had appeared, it was then gone.

" _Something is off with him, wouldn't you agree? I mean you do see it right?_ " Megatron asked with a curious tone in his voice, reminding the Predacon Leader that he was still there which only angered Galvatron more.

"Shut up!" he spat back in as low and faint a voice as he could, so not to gain the Terracons attention before walking off the bridge, leaving Megatron to chuckle as he stayed there in the CIC.

"Y _ou can try shut me out or ignore me, but I am not going anywhere._ " he shouted back as the door shut behind Galvatron.

The Predacon lord walked through the dimly lit corridors of the Nemesis, trying to calm himself as his spark was still burning with anger, mainly this was because of that hallucination though he did have a point. He was right about Shockblast, the Con is acting less like himself with every passing day.

' _What is happening to him?_ ' Galvatron thought before his com-link activated, pulling the Predacon from his thoughts as he tapped his ear piece.

"Lord Galvatron, Six-shot here. You have a call from the Omicron Colony on standby, it is Ser-Ket." Six-shot stated.

"Very well, patch her through." the Predacon Lord replied before the Con's voice was switched with that of the Femme.

"This is Ser-Ket, can you read me Lord Galvatron?"

"Loud and clear Ser-Ket. But tell me why you are calling and not Rip-Claw?"

The com line remained quiet for a moment before Ser-Ket spoke up.

"Forgive me my Lord, but my sister's time has been taken up with the torture of our prisoners." she replied as the sounds of screams echoed through the com-line, which surprised Galvatron.

"What in the Allspark was that?"

"Apologies, that was one of our prisoners Lord Galvatron. Rip-Claw is quite efficient in getting what she wants through the infliction of pain." Ser-Ket answered with an uneven tone that the Predacon Leader picked up on.

"And this bothers you?" he asked, though the tone pf his voice carried no compassion what so ever.

"With my enemies, I prefer to kill them outright and not make them suffer. Because there is no honor in it, which is something I believe my Sister is without." the Femme said back.

"I understand and appreciate your opinion Ser-Ket, even if I do not completely agree with it. But has Rip-Claw's efforts bore any fruit?" the Con asked, in an attempt to change the subject.

"No, not really my Lord, we already know most of what the prisoners have spilled. Which is why I am uncomfortable with the torture continuing, may I have the prisoners put out of their misery now?" Ser-Ket replied.

"No, your Sister will continue. Because I think that our Autobot prisoners know more than they make out, so tell her to keep at it and inform me of whatever she finds." Galvatron answered, earning a sigh from the femme.

"Very well, is there anything else my Lord?" she said, with an agitated tone.

"Yes, I take it there have been no problems since we took over the Colony?"

"That is correct Lord Galvaton, the entire colony is now under our control and its defences are in the process of being repaired. The civilian population are all under house arrest and the military contingent are either dead or our prisoners."

"Excellent, then all that is left for me to say is that I will be sending extra ships to help you sustain control of the Colony." Galvatron replied.

"Very well my Lord, we await their arrival."

"Galvatron out." the Predacon leader said back before cutting off the conversation, finding himself staring out of one of the observation ports in the corridor he had stopped in while speaking to the femme. And it bothered him why she would question the treatment of prisoners in the way she had.

' _Something is up with her?_ ' he thought while looking out at the dead Cybertronian landscape.

' _I will send a message to Rip-Claw and ask what she thinks of her sister's attitude._ ' he added before the intercom activated.

"Lord Galvatron, your presence is needed in the engine room." a Terracon spoke, earning a sigh from Galvatron.

"I am on my way."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Ser-Ket felt uncomfortable, it was something she could not help as she stood just yards away from the door that lead to the Achilles brig. The screams coming from inside that room were enough to make her sick to her spark, but what made her feel me uncomfortable was that their Lord and Master Galvatron was willing to let it continue.

' _What sense is there in further torture when the prisoners have willingly given all the information they know already, just so it would make the pain stop?'_  she thought to herself as another blood chilling scream ripped through the air and her ears, making her grimace where she stood. This earned curious looks from two Terracons who were standing guard either side of the entrance, which did not go unnoticed by the Femme.

"What are you looking at?"

Both soldiers jumped to attention and stared back at the wall directly in front of them, but this was not good enough for Ser-Ket.

"I said, what are you looking at?" she repeated while walking right in front of them, breaking their sight of the wall so that they had no choice but to look back at her.

"Nothing Commander." they replied in unison, but the Femme glared back as she stood before the pair.

"Good, make sure it stays that way."

"Ser-Ket, would you join me please?" Rip-Claw called from inside the room, gaining Ser-Ket's attention as she sighed before walking past the soldiers, who mirrored her once she was gone.

Ser-Ket entered the brig to see that all the cells were occupied with an Autobot, and they were all trapped behind an energy barrier that kept them from escaping or physically interacting with each other. But the last time she had been in this room, Ser-Ket could have sworn that the prisoners were all still breathing. But as she looked around, the femme could tell that they were all dead.

They bodies limp, bloody and bruised and they faces frozen in one expression that showed they had died in excruciating pain. Ser-Ket could not help but feel sorry for them, but she also felt relieved that their prolonged suffering had now come to an end.

"Sister, there you are." a femmine voice spoke to her right, making Ser-Ket look over to see Rip-Claw standing over a mobile berth as she smiled down at the male prisoner who was restrained on it. Ser-Ket's eyes widened once she got a good look at the said prisoner, recognising it to be the blonde Autobot that gave them a good fight during the invasion, though he now looked almost like the dead prisoners that were lying around them as he lied half naked on the berth, his muscular but beaten torso bare for all to see.

"This Autobot is being far more stubborn than the others Sister, he won't even give me his name." Rip-Claw said before taking a sharp knife off of the small tray of similar tools, which were already covered in blood and stabbed it into his leg, making the bot grimace as blood sipped out around the wound.

"Come now, would it really be so bad if you just gave me your name." she then said to the bot, before giving him a moment to speak. But instead he spat blood back in her face, earning an annoyed expression from Rip-Claw as she wiped her face clean with one hand.

"Okay, that happened." she said calmly in return and then pulled the knife out sharply, earning another grunt from the bot before slamming the knife down into his other leg.

"Arrrrgh, fuck you bitch!" he spat before gritting his teeth as she pressed the knife down more into his flesh.

"You sure you don't want to give me your name?" the Femme asked.

"Go to hell!" he managed to say while gritting his teeth, gaining a sigh from Rip-Claw who replied by ripping the knife out of his leg as blood squirted out over the floor.

"I have to say, I did not expect this reaction. I mean I have cut and stabbed you numerous times, yet you will not answer my questions."

"Perhaps he does not know anything." Ser-Ket spoke up, gaining her sister's attention, while the prisoner then passed out due to the pain his body was in, but not before noticing Ser-Ket and her reaction to the whole ordeal.

"He knows something alright, and I will cut it out of him one way or another." Rip-Claw replied as she glanced back at the bloodied Autobot, before placing the knife on the table.

"But I will have to continue this later, when he reawakens. It's funny that he is the first person to pass out from the pain I have inflicted upon him." she added while walking over to Ser-Ket who looked back at the blonde Man unconscious on the berth.

"He is strong, that much is certain." the Femme replied, earning a curious look from her sister who the gestured to her to join her outside. So both Predacons walked out of the brig and stood in the corridor.

"Okay, I am going to take a break now and I want you to take care of his wounds." Rip-Claw said, making Ser-Ket stare at her wide eyed.

"Why me?"

"Because my Sister, I have noticed that you've taken a liking to this Autobot since we encountered him in battle." the older Femme replied.

"Wait...I have not..." Ser-Ket said back in a blustered tone, making Rip-Claw smile.

"I mean in the way that he has given us more of a fight than the rest of the Autobots on this planet, just like you said earlier..."

Ser-Ket suddenly looked uncomfortable as her sister continued.

"...And I know you well enough to see that torture does not sit well with you and he too has witnessed this today, so this will hopefully soften his defences towards you."

"You think he will open up to me? That I can gain his confidence?" Ser-Ket replied with a curious expression, gaining a nod from Rip-Claw.

"Exactly, then I will give you one hour and then I will return and begin anew." she said with a confident smile.

"So you better get started, I will be back." the older Femme replied before turning and walking away, leaving Ser-Ket standing there in the corridor with a worried expression on her face.

' _This will not end well.'_  she thought as she took a deep breath and then began to walk back into the brig, stopping short of the door and standing between the two Terracons. Both soldiers looked ahead with confused expressions as to why the Femme had stopped there, but then she suddenly grabbed them both by their throats and pushed them back against the closed door. Her grip was so tight that neither could breath as they gasped for air, but their eyes froze on her as Ser-Ket gave them a deathly stare.

"If you ever go behind my back and speak of me to my Sister again, I will make you suffer more terribly than she could ever imagine. And you know how creative she can be, do we understand each other?"

Both Cons nodded as neither blinked while looking into her cold eyes, too afraid of what she might do to them. But then she let go of their necks and both men slumped to the ground, taking deep breaths of much needed air.

"Good." she answered before walking through the door and back into the Brig.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

It was the most peculiar of sensations that stirred Quickstrike from his unconsciousness, as he felt what could only be described as warm water running over his bruised skin and into the painful cuts and stab wounds that he had been unfortunate to have withstood at the hands of that bitch. The fire like pain that he felt just beneath and around those wounds quickly faded as whatever it was healing him, but this was not the feeling that he found peculiar. It was a secondary sensation, that felt somewhat like wool being brushed over his skin, spreading and rubbing in the liquid over himself.

So he opened his eyes and instantly his pupils were bombarded with a bright light, one that had felt almost as painful as the blades that had pierced his skin, forcing him to raise his hand to the light and block it from his sight. Allowing his eyes to adapt, so that he could see what it was that he was feeling over his exposed skin. And slowly but surely, his vision corrected itself and the image of a beautiful woman standing over him revealed itself.

The woman, who clearly had noticed that the prisoner had awoken, chose instead to ignore this and continue to rub liquid Medi-gel onto his damaged body, bringing what felt like new found life to what had begun to look like a defeated husk. Quickstrike though recognised the woman who had shoulder length black hair as one of the two he had faced before being captured.

"If this is your version of good cop and bad cop, then I think I will pass." he replied weakly, earning the Femme's attention.

"What?" the Woman simply replied with an almost innocent tone to her voice as she looked down at him with a confused expression.

"So the other woman, the one that spent a good hour torturing me with both deep and shallow cuts. Then she also beat me into a bloody pulp with her fists as she tried to get me to talk, just up's and leaves. And now here you are to tend to my wounds and act nice to me, sorry but I have seen enough movies and TV to know what game your playing right now and it won't work." Quickstrike said with confident tone, which surprised the Femme considering the condition the bot was currently in.

"Because I won't tell you anything, not that I know anything of value anyway. So you might as well kill me now and stop wasting our time." he added, making the Woman look back down to the cut on his chest and rub more Medi-gel into it.

"I know you won't say anything, but I have my orders and they are to keep you from bleeding out and dying. I fear my Sister is taking an interest in you." she replied, making the bot tilt his head to the side and look at her.

"Your Sister?" Quickstrike said as he remembered back to the earlier torture and he did recall hearing that bitch call out to a 'Sister', but then it hit him what the Femme just said.

"…wait, what interest in me?"

"My sister has never failed to break someone's will through torture before, I mean you did not even give her your name..." the Femme replied with what sounded like an impressed tone while looking down at him.

"...And it was most impressive, but I believe that the next time Rip-Claw comes in here, that she will try even harder to get what she wants from you."

Quickstrike looked away from the Woman and towards one of the now empty cells that surrounded them, his face staying serious and firm as he dwelled on her words before looking back at her.

"Then I will just have to bite my lip and take it again, because I will not give her the satisfaction of seeing me falter. And if you think that this nice act is going to work on me, after all the lives you and your forces have killed here. Then you are a fool."

The Femme stared at him for a long moment, trying hard not to look taken aback by his words. But in this act she failed, as the bot suddenly recognised the expression on her face, as he had seen it before during the white hot pain he was suffering at the hands of the one she called Rip-Claw. Before another word could be said, the Femme's holo-tool activated and began beeping, making her suddenly stop what she was doing and step away from the prisoner.

"How do you feel physically?" she asked, as Quickstrike looked down at his body, the wounds he had suffered now nothing more than slightly red bruises.

"Better I guess." he replied, unsure of how to make his answer sound. Due to the fact that he did not know what to make of this Woman, but she did show that she had compassion which was more than he could say for the other one.

"Good, because you will need your strength. This means that my Sister is on her way back." the Femme replied as she held up her holo-tool and Quickstrike looked at the flashing light on it's interface.

"I wish you luck and if you survive, I will be here to patch you up."

The Woman then began to walk towards the door before stopping and looking back at the bot.

"My name is Ser-Ket by the way."

Quickstrike merely looked at her for a moment before slowly nodding in return, earning a slight smile from the Femme.

' _I am not going to make it easy for her, even if she is kind of cute…for an enemy of course._ ' he thought as Ser-Ket walked out of the room, making the door shut behind her and leaving the bot on his own and strapped down to the berth.

So he tried to free himself, but found that his restraints were tightly wrapped around his ankles and wrists. Then suddenly the door opened and Rip-Claw walked back in and right up to his bedside, flashing an evil smile as she looked down at him.

"Well then…shall we start again…..or do you feel like talking?" she asked, but Quickstrike merely stayed quiet and looked away, which only made the Femme's smile grow wider.

"Very well then…" she replied as she then equipped some strange looking gloves before grasping her hands together, which made bolts of electricity erupt around them. Lighting up the room and making the bot look back at her with a wide-eyed and worried expression.

"…Tell me when it hurts." Rip-Claw added as her hands descended upon the Autobot's exposed chest.

Suddenly Quickstrike's screams could be heard echoing down the corridor, it even surprised the two Terrcons guarding the Brig's entrance. Even Ser-Ket who had been walking away, stopped and looked back towards it's source. A worried look appeared on her face, for she knew that her sister would only get worse and more imaginative in her obsession to break the Autobot, and there was nothing that she could do about it.

 


	18. Chapter 18

Two days had passed and Quickstrike was lying on his side on the cold, hard floor of his cell. His entire body was shaking, but not because of the temperature of the room but from the pain that was coursing through his body. Because the Autobot had just gone through another torture session with Rip-Claw, the sadistic Femme that took pleasure in inflicting pain on to others. And what Quickstrike had gone through in the last twenty-four hours could only be described as hell, pure and simple.

That Predacon bitch was going through every torture method she knew which appeared to be all of them, and the Autobot was not even sure how she managed to inflict so much on him in the span of a day...but she had. The Femme would torture him for an entire hour, then leave him alone for an hour in which time Ser-Ket would tend his wounds and then Rip-Claw would return an hour later to start again. He did not know how he had taken so much pain in such a short time, but he knew that he could not give in and let that bitch win.

Now Ser-Ket on the other hand, he still did not know what to make of her, she was an enigma. On one hand she could be playing him just like her sister, offering a soft hand instead of a hardened fist or sharp blade. In an attempt to make him talk and yet he could see it in her face each time she helped his wounds heal, that all this torture was bothering her. The bot was good at reading people and this particular Femme was not doing a good job of hiding her feelings from him, which appeared to be going against what these Sisters were supposed to be doing.

' _I have to hold on, be strong._ ' Quickstrike thought as he heard a door open, followed by footsteps as someone entered the room. So he turned his head to look out of his cell and felt his spark sink as Rip-Claw appeared and deactivated the force-field that was keeping him inside.

"Ready for some more?" she said as he noticed her holding a mallet in her hand.

"Not really, but if you insist." he replied sarcastically, which irritated the Femme.

"Well I do." she said back before smacking the mallet down on the Bot's hand, making the bot cry out in agony as his fingers were crushed from the blow. He hen instinctively held his broken hand with his other as he rolled onto his back, but Rip-Claw then smacked the mallet down on his right knee, earning another cry of pain from the Bot.

"How much longer do you think you can keep up this level of insolence? What's going to break first, your body or your spark?" she asked in an irritated tone before bringing the mallet down on his chest, earning a loud crack from under his skin which made Quickstrike almost heave and cough loudly as he tried to breath through the excruciating pain that blow caused him.

"Tell me what I want to know." the femme said to him as her tone went from irritated to angry, as the Bot rolled onto his hand and knees Whilst not saying a word. Rip-Claw gritted her teeth at this and kicked him in the stomach, earning a loud grunt from Quickstrike as he howled out in pain. But the Predacon did not stop there as she then swung the mallet down onto his back, slamming the Bot onto his stomach.

"WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" she shouted before readying The mallet again.

"Wait...!" the Bot suddenly replied, making the Femme stop in mid-swing.

"You ready to talk?" she spat back with little patience in her voice, as the Autobot slowly got back onto his knees and looked up at her.

"My name..." he said as a grin appeared on his face.

"...is Optimus Prime, you stupid bitch."

Quickstrike then started laughing, which was painful for him. But he wasn't going to let that get in the way of this, as Rip-Claw's face suddenly went almost red with fury as she swung the mallet right into the side of his face, sending him back down to the ground and into unconsciousness.

"Scrap." she muttered as she looked down at the Autobot who's face had a very red and swollen bruise on the side that she hit, so she tapped her com-link.

"Ser-Ket, you are needed down in the Brig...and bring the medical kit."

' _That was way too fast for Rip-Claw.'_  Ser-Ket thought as she paced down the corridor towards the Brig with medical kit in hand, she knew that her sister loved to extend torturing prisoners for at least an hour. So hearing that it was already over made her spark worry for the prisoner, which in itself was a worrying notion to the Predacon.

' _Why am I worrying over an Autobot?_ ' she questioned as she arrived at the Brig and walked between the two Terracon guards and entered the room. Once inside the femme noticed that Rip-Claw was already gone, but her eyes widened at the body that was sprawled out on the floor before her. For it was Quickstrike and he was unconscious with blood dripping down his cheek from his mouth, dripping into a small puddle beside him.

"What in the Allspark!" she said as she got on her knees beside him and began to scan his injuries with her holo-tool, the data soon appeared on her holo-screen and it made her gasp as she read the information.

"Shattered hand, broken ribs, broken knee, broken back and cracked skull. What in the pit was Rip-Claw thinking?" she thought aloud, earning a chuckle from Quickstrike which surprised her.

"Your...!"

"Still alive." he replied as he slowly turned his head toward her and met her eyes with his own.  
"I guess I really pissed her off."

The Femme shook her head as she took out several syringes of triple-X Medi-gel and began injecting them into points of his body where the damage had been immense, which earned a yelp from the Bot.

"God! How big is that needle?" he cried out as Ser-Ket finished the first one and pulled it out gently.

"Don't be a baby, its just a little prick." she replied gently, though with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"I mean if you can take a mallet to the head and still laugh about it, then I guess you can take a little injection." she added with a slight smile as she injected some more medi-gel into his chest.

"Your funny, I'll give you that." he said while looking up to the ceiling, the bot could feel the medi-gel coursing through his body, healing him. It was a good feeling, one that brought a small smile to his face as he looked back at her.

"I still don't know what to make of you...but...thank you Ser-Ket." he added, earning a taken-back expression from the Femme before she nodded in return.

"Your welcome."

Quickstrike then looked away from the Femme with a concerned expression, which she noticed so turned to see what had gained his attention. What she saw was a camera that was fitted to the top corner of the ceiling over them, and the Predacon sighed before turning back to her patient.

"By the way, no need to worry about those cameras that are located here." she said with a confident tone.

"Why not? I mean with the footage that has been recorded over the last few days, aren't you worried how that will look to your comrades and your sister?" the bot asked with a worried tone.

"No, not at all. Since the cameras for the Brig have not been activated yet, I check the security systems each time before I arrive and they are still offline." the femme replied with a calm tone, before she took an injection and brought the needle up to the Autobot's face which was covered a massive bruise.

"Stay still, I have to inject this into your face so it will heal the damage done from that mallet." she said, earning a nod from Quickstrike who took a deep breath. Then Ser-Ket slowly slid the needle into the skin while the bot looked ahead and tried to focus on something else which was difficult as he felt the medi-gel flowing into his face from the needle which was followed by a tingly feeling. Once the needle was removed, the Femme smiled as she saw the medi-gel having an almost instantaneous effect as the damaged skin and the skull under it began to heal. The Autobot looked up at the Predacon and gave her an appreciative smile, which she returned as she prepared the next few injections.

Then for next several minutes there was a comfortable silence between the two, as Ser-Ket finished injecting the medi-gel into Quickstrike. And then once she was done, the Femme packed her equipment away and got up.

"Leaving so soon?" the Bot said with a disappointed tone.

"You need to rest, even if it is only for an hour." she replied, abet with a worried tone in the last part of her sentence.  
"Well then, see you in bit then...Ser-Ket." Quickstrike said as he raised his hand an slowly waved to her, which made the Femme wave back to her surprise before she turned around and headed for the door. But then she stopped, earning a puzzled look from the Autobot.

"Ser-Ket?"

"You know, I can't help but feel bad that I don't know your name." she replied as she turned back to him with a heartfelt expression. One that made the Bot look up at the ceiling, a thoughtful look on his own that surprised the Predacon again.

"I don't know if its the high concentration of medi-gel that's in me, or if I am just warming to you but...Quickstrike." he said, earning a look of curiosity from the Femme.

"What?"  
"My name is Quickstrike." he replied, earning a smile from the femme as the force-field reactivated between them and walked out of the room.

Ser-Ket did not get very far because as soon as she stepped through the door, Rip-Claw was waiting with her arms crossed.

"Well? Did he tell you anything?"

This was the same question the older sister would ask after every single time that Ser-Ket had tended to their prisoner's wounds, but after what she had seen and dealt with just now, the younger Sister felt her blood boil as she looked at the other Femme, but waited for the door to close first.

"What the hell were you thinking? You nearly killed him." Ser-Ket spat, earning a smile from Rip-Claw.

"My, that's a lot of spirit for someone who is an enemy of ours. Is there something you want to tell me?" the older Sister replied with a knowing smile.

"No, I am just concerned that you will kill him before you can find out what he knows. I mean those were your own words 'Sister', how about keeping to them." Ser-Ket answered.

"Whatever, that sarcastic little bastard pissed me off so I made him pay for it. But you did not answer my question, did he tell you anything?"

' _Quickstrike, his name is Quickstrike.'_  she thought to herself before shaking her head in response.

"No, he didn't tell me anything."

Rip-Claw simply looked at her and sighed before mirroring her Sister.

"Well, I guess I will be back in a few minutes….." she began to say, before being cut off by Ser-Ket.

"Make it an hour.."

The Predacon looked at her younger sister with a curious expression.

"…His body needs that time for the increased medi-gel to at least… heal his wounds so that he won't die." Ser-Ket added, hoping that she could dissuade her sister from her more savage nature.

"Very well, one hour and no more." Rip-Claw replied before acknowledging the Terracons standing nearby and then walking back down the corridor, this earned a sigh of relief from Ser-Ket who then remembered where she was standing and so moved on, as both guards watched her curiously.

' _I have to be careful._ ' she thought while she walked away, she can't be seen showing too much compassion towards Quickstrike who after all, is still an Autobot and an enemy of the Predacons. But there was something about him that she found interesting and it wasn't just his ability to annoy and frustrate her sister, though she couldn't put her finger on it at this time. In fact there were a number of issues that were plaguing her spark since her reawakening, like how out of place she felt amongst the rest of the Predacons.

She even found out from eavesdropping on other Terracons during their breaks that they could remember little moments that happened to them before the great cataclysm, and yet she could not remember anything. Actually her earliest memory that she could think of, was her battle with Grimlock back on Cybertron during the Great War. And then there were the nightmares she suffered during her sleep cycles which in themselves were confusing to say the least, because they were just an assault of images and sounds that hit her so hard and fast that she could not really make out what they were or about.

' _It's funny…_ ' she thought while walking past.

' _The only time I feel at all at peace with myself was when I'm in Quickstrike's company. So yeah I am confused….welcome to my world._ '

The Femme then stopped at one of the windows that showed a view of Omicron's landscape and the city that was under their control and from where she was, the Femme could see Skystalker perched on top of what was once the Autobot communication tower. Ser-Ket found that whenever she was feeling down or in need of some time alone with her thoughts, then she would always come to this spot, which the Predacon was doing a lot lately.

And usually the view had been much better than this, as rain fell down heavily from the grey cloud covered sky. The femme had been used to looking out at multi-coloured nebulas or just at the infinite looking star-field, but right now she was too caught up in her own thoughts to really notice the view. For she could not stop her thoughts going hack to their Autobot prisoner who was currently sleeping off a torture session that had become a fists all and blunt objects hit-athon.

' _Why did Rip-Claw go out of control like that? Could he really have got under her sister's skin and infuriated her enough to make the Femme lose her control like that...not like she had much of it to begin with.'_  she thought as she blankly watched as a Predacon fighter flew past while it performed its patrol.

' _If Quickstrike keeps this up, then he really would be tempting fate. Because I doubt he would survive another close call like the previous one._ '

A concerned expression appeared on Ser-Ket's face as she dwelled on this.

' _I should check on him again._ ' she thought before realising the guards would still be there.

' _Wait, it would look real suspicious of me to be going back just after I already treated him._ '

The Femme kept her attention on the view outside while two more Terracons walked past her and down the corridor.

' _I'll head down when the guards change shifts, that should give me a ten minute window._ '

And with a new sense of purpose, Ser -Ket left her favourite spot and headed back towards the ship's brig.

The wait for the guard change was a stressful one for Ser-Ket as she remained hidden in the doorway of a room just aways from the Brig's entrance, too which both Terracons were still standing there and the hour mark was only shy of ten minutes.

' _Come on, you have to go at some point._ ' she thought with a frustrated sigh. The Femme had been lucky that the room she chose to hide in was on the other side of the brig, because Rip-Claw always approached the brig from the opposite side and Ser-Ket didn't want to have to explain why she was even there at this time. Suddenly both guards began to move as one spoke to the other.

"Lets go then, shift's over. Time for some other unlucky sod to guard this son of a glitch."

"Yeah, if it were up to me, I would let the rest of the men tear that Autobot apart." the other replied as they both walked away, their banter becoming fainter as they disappeared down the corridor. That was when Ser-Ket made her move and quickly made it through the door and into the Brig.

It was quiet inside the brig, but then that was to be expected since the prisoners that once filled each of the cells were now dead. Having been killed by her sister Rip-Claw during her torture sessions, and right now there was only one left and Ser-Ket wanted to be sure he wasn't going to end up like the others. But even she wasn't prepared for the sight that was waiting for her as she walked in front of Quickstrike's cell, her eyes widening when they fell upon him sitting against the wall in a tired and lost way. The Femme's spark sank as she saw it in his blank expression, which was in complete opposite of what the Autobot had been like only an hour earlier. With the way he was looking at the ground, the Bot had not seen the Femme who simply stared in disbelief.

' _He is far worse than I thought, how did I not see this?_ ' Ser-Ket thought as Quickstrike sighed before looking up, noticing the femme standing there on front of him. His eyes widened as they met those of the femme and for a long moment, there was only silence between the pair.

"So...I guess you now know the truth..." Quickstrike finally said as he looked away from her towards the grey wall to his left.

"How long?" was all Ser-Ket could say, her eyes never moved off the bot who looked back.

"Since the last two sessions, I've been tortured nearly none-stop for over two days now. How much more did you think I could take?" he replied as Ser-Ket dropped the force-field and entered his cell.

"But you seemed so focused and intent on holding on." She said back in a gentle tone while kneeling down in front of him.

"That was just for show..." he answered while looking at her, noticing the Femme's compassionate expression.

"...I didn't want to reveal how close I am to breaking, that 'she' would win."

"And what about me?" Ser-Ket replied with a questioning tone.

"I've only known you for the last two days Ser-Ket. And I know I shouldn't trust you, but I can also tell that you are not like the others." Quickstrike said back, earning a unsure look from the Femme as she looked away from him.

"I am still a Predacon, still an enemy."

"I don't think so, I have seen that you've strongly disagreed with how your comrades have treated me and the other Autobot prisoners." the bot replied, regaining Ser-Ket's attention.

"I also noticed earlier on, that though I told you my name, you did not tell your sister. Why was that?" He continued.

"I...I did not want her to know." the Femme said back as both their eyes remained on each other.

"Why?" the Autobot simply asked.

"Because I...am ashamed of how dishonourable my comrades have been, and I am feeling less and less like one of them as a result of it." Ser-Ket replied while wondering why she was being so open with him.

' _Why am I telling him all of this?_ ' she thought as the bot continued to look at her before sighing, regaining the Femme's complete attention.

"I appreciate that..."he replied with a smile which then disappeared and he looked ahead in a blank-like way.

"...but in the end it will not matter, because if I go through one more round of torture from your sister, then I will tell her everything she wants to know." he continued, earning a sad frown from the Predacon.  
"But why? Why give in now?"  
"Because I am tired and I want it to be over. I know it has only been a few days, but never before have I ever met someone who can inflict so much pain in such a short time." Quickstrike replied while Ser-Ket remains quiet and listened to him intently.

"So if I have to go through that again, then I will tell her. And she will then finally end it all for me." he added, before noticing the worried look the Femme had.

"What?"

"I don't think Rip-Claw would actually, since you've embarrassed her with your continued resistance for far longer than anyone else she's tortured. So its more likely that she will continue to keep you alive and make you suffer for longer." Ser-Ket answered in a truthful but sad tone, making the Autobot look down to the ground in defeat.

"Then...can you..."

"What?" the Predacon asked with a confused expression, as Quickstrike looked back into her eyes.

"...can you kill me?"

"What! Why?" the Femme asked back with shock evident in her voice at what the bot had just said.

"Because your the only one who can now, since you have confirmed that the rest of the Predacons will not. I mean I wish things were different and that I could see my family and friends again. But I know that will not happen, so I ask you."

' _I don't want to see him suffer anymore, but killing him...I can't do that._ ' she thought to herself, but unfortunately Quickstrike could read as much in her face as she looked back at him.

"Please Ser-Ket..." he simply pleaded softly, but before the Predacon could answer, her com-link activated.

"Ser-Ket, its Rip-Claw." the Female voice spoke on the other end.

"Sister, what is it?" the younger sibling replied with a finger on her com-link, all the while Quickstrike looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Where are you right now?" Rip-Claw asked with a curious tone, one that did not go unnoticed by Ser-Ket who looked around at her surroundings while ignoring Quickstrike for a second or so.

"I am in my quarters, why? Is there something wrong?" she answered, earning another pause before her sister spoke up.

"Okay...well Lord Galvatron's asked for one of us to speak to him and since you have already covered for me, I thought I would return the favour and volunteer."

"Thanks for that, if you want I can head to bridge to cover for your absence.?" Ser-Ket replied.

"I appreciate that sister, Rip-Claw out." the other Predacon said back before the transmission ended, making the younger Femme smile as she looked down at the bot who had a confused expression.

"What is it?"

"I am not going to kill you to end your suffering by my Sister." she replied, making the Bot confused again. But before he could question, Ser-Ket carried on.

"I think that family reunion you wanted will happen...because I am going to help you instead."

Quickstrike's eyes widened at the Femme's comment as his expression was one of pure shock, while Ser-Ket simply smiled at him confidently.

"Your can't, I mean if they find out its you that help..." he began to argue, but the Femme countered immediately.

"Who's to say they will discover that it was I that did it, since I can just make it look like you got out by your self."

"Why would you risk so much for me?" the Autobot asked with a curious tone.

"Because I don't want to see you die at the hands of my sadistic sister, like all the prisoners we had captured here. They all... like yourself, deserved to die an honorable death. One that has them standing, and not on their knees." Ser-Ket replied as she brushed her hand through her black hair in a combing-like way.

"So what do we do, because I still feel like I have gone twelve rounds with a Krogan." the Bot said back while gesturing to himself.

"My medical kit contains not only medi-gel, but also an injection that works similar to Human adrenaline. It is injected into the spark and will give you a second wind that will make you feel completely fine, despite how your body's actual condition." she replied as she showed him the syringe, earning a nod from Quickstrike.

"Alright, so what's the plan?"

The Femme checked the time on her holo-tool before looking back at the Bot.

"Okay, I have to go now or else the new guard shift will find me here and I won't be able to help you. So I am going to leave your cell's force-field deactivated and head to the CIC. This will take me several minutes to do, so wait a minute before injecting yourself with the syringe. I will then cause a distraction in this area that will allow you to take out the guards and get their weapons."

The Autobot nodded before Ser-Ket gave him a curious look.

"How good is your memory?"

"I have a photographic memory." Quickstrike replied with a confident tone despite his current condition, which the Femme thought was cute.

"Okay, here is a layout of the ship. Use this path to get to the shuttle-bay, I will set off further distractions across the ship and then meet you at there to help you access one of the shuttles." she said while showing him the map with her holo-tool. Quickstrike examined the map carefully, taking note of certain locations along the way.

"Right, I've got it. But are you sure you can do all this without being caught yourself?" he asked with a concerned expression and tone that surprised Ser-Ket.

"I'll be fine, I just want to make sure you have a fighting chance. That's all you need isn't it?"

"Yeah, you could always...come with me." the bot replied, which made the Femme's eyes widen.

"You want me to go with you?"

"Yes I do, because you have been kind to me and I don't want to see you hurt because of your part in helping me escape. Thats what will happen when they find out and they will, because secrets will always come out in the end and when that happens...you will no longer be safe." Quickstrike said which unbeknownst to him, made Ser-Ket's spark warm as she gave him an affectionate smile.

"I appreciate your concern Quickstrike, really I do. But this is my choice and all that matters to me right now, is making sure that you escape and not suffer the same fate as the other Autobots we captured. So I will go and prepare the distractions."

The Femme handed him the syringe, then got up and began walking away, before stopping and take another look at the Bot.

"I will see you at the shuttle-bay, good luck."

"You too." Quickstrike replied before she nodded and walked out of the room, leaving him alone in the brig as he stared down at the syringe in his hands.

Ser-Ket was almost pacing down the corridor has she made her way to the nearest elevator, so she could get to the CIC. The Femme was lucky to leave when she had, because the two new Terracons assigned to guard the Brig's entrance passed her just past the first cross-junction in the corridor. And they would not have known where she had come from because of that very reason, and she was thankful because the plan was still pretty much in play. So she stopped at the elevator door and tapped the control panel on it's left, then a moment later the doors opened and she stepped inside.

Quickstrike sat up in his open cell and waited while patting the syringe's side on the palm of his free hand, this was a habit that he had developed since he was a kid. Something to help keep his mind focused when he was waiting, though back when he was a kid it used to be a pencil or pen that he tapped on the desk, book or whatever else was around him at the time. He never really was the patient type, but the wait now was nearly as much torture as what he had already gone through in the last few days.

' _That's got to be long enough._ ' he thought before he took the lid off the syringe, exposing the needle and the sight of it gave the Autobot chills.

' _I hate needles._ '

But he shook his head and got his mind back on the task at hand as he steadied his hand and held the syringe just above his exposed chest, right where his spark would be.

' _Allons-y._ '

He then stabbed the needle into his chest and pressed down on the button on the syringe, which forced the liquid inside it to travel through the needle and into his own spark.

' _God damn it, that hurts._ ' he thought as he felt an enormous pressure on his chest which made him fall on to his side as he held on to the syringe which was still stuck in his body. And he lied there as his body began to shake and fidget uncontrollably.

Meanwhile Ser-Ket entered the CIC and saw that her Sister was not present, so it would seem that she was still in a meeting with the Predacon Lord. Not that the young femme would know what his plans were, as it seemed she was on a 'need to know' basis. But right now, this was a blessing as there were only a few Terracons scattered about the room, so she could carry out her plan without any real interference.

"Commander Ser-Ket, may I be of service." the nearest Terracon asked as he looked over to her.

"No thank you, you may carry on with your duties." she replied as she moved to her station, earning a look of gratitude from the soldier as another joined him.

"She is so nice, isn't she." he said, earning a nod from the other.

"I know, she's not at all like her Sister."

"You know, I have a mind to ask her out."

"Yeah right, like you have a shot with the likes of the Commander." the other laughed, earning a confused look from his friend.

"What do you mean?"

"Well lets see, first she is our joint Commanding officer, and second she is intelligent, kind, courageous and beautiful. While you are just...you." the other said, earning a sigh from his friend.

"Yeah, your right. I guess a..." he was about to say before both Cons noticed that Ser-Ket was watching them from her station.

"You two do have duties to fulfil right?" she asked in a commanding, but not at all insulting tone.

"Yes sir." they both said in unison as they stood to attention.

"Then please return to them." she added before looking back to the holo-screen in front of her. Meanwhile both Cons started to head back to their separate stations.

"Much better than Rip-Claw." one of them whispered.

"Much, much better." the other replied.

Meanwhile Ser-Ket had gained access to the ship's security systems and began tampering with the fire alert protocols.

' _This should keep everyone busy and allow Quickstrike the chance to escape._ ' she thought before pressing the button on the screen which was highlighting the area where the Brig was located.

Quickstrike opened his eyes which focused immediately as he found himself lying on his back on the floor of his cell, so he sat up and looked at his surroundings.

' _Wow, this stuff really worked.'_  the bot thought as he felt great...better then great actually, he was suddenly so alert and full of energy compared to only a few minutes ago that it all felt really strange.

' _Gonna need a moment to take this all in._ '

But that moment came and left just as quickly as he thought it when suddenly the lights in the room began flickering on and off, which made the bot smile.

' _Ser-Ket did it, okay...show-time._ ' he thought as he got to his feet and walked out of his cell and towards the Brig's exit, picking up his shirt as he did.

Meanwhile outside in the corridor, the Terracons guarding the Brig were looking around at the area's lights with dumbfounded expressions as they flickered on and off.

"What in the Allspark is up with the lights?" one asked as he stepped further into the corridor, leaving the other to stand at the door.

"Not sure, but perhaps we should call the CIC and see if they know what it is."

The first Terracon turned away from his friend and tapped his com-link.

"CIC, this is Terracon group Gamma..." he began to say before the door behind his friend opened, and Quickstrike grabbed that soldier from behind and began to strangle him with one arm around his throat. He the pulled the Terracon's pistol out of its holster with his free hand just as the other guard turned back to see what was happening, going wide-eyes at the sight.

"What in the pit?" he exclaimed before Quickstrike shot him in the chest twice, blowing him back into the wall and then onto the floor dead. His mate tried to fight back as he grunted, but the Autobot had to tight a grip around his neck and then increased the pressure until the enemy soldier lost consciousness, Quickstrike then dropped his body before firing the weapon on the knocked out soldier with a kill shot to the head. And as he stood there with two dead Terracons at his feet and a loaded gun in his hand, the bot smiled and took a breath as he looked down the corridor of the Predacon ship.

' _Time to get out of here.'_

 


	19. Chapter 19

Rip-Claw stood in the Achilles's ready room in front of a large holo-screen, which came to life and she found herself face to face with Galvatron.

"I received your message Lord Galvatron, how can I be of service to you?" she said in a loyal tone.

"I have been meaning to contact you Rip-Claw, but have found myself continuously delayed due to our preparations." the Predacon Lord replied, earning a curious expression from the Femme.

"Preperations, my Lord?"

"I will be leading an attack against Omega, in a bid to wrestle control of the Syndicate's forces for our own use. I was hoping to be already in battle, but the time it takes to ready our fleet has increased." Galvatron replied with an irritated tone.

"I see, if you need any of the troops from here on Omicron, then I will see to it that you get them." Rip-Claw said back, gaining a confused expression from Galvatron.

"No, that will not be required. I will in fact be sending more ships to help protect our interests on that colony. I did leave a message with Ser-Ket..." he said as a worried expression, while the Femme gave him a curious look.

"I have received no message from my Sister." she cut him, which made Galvatron's worried look to increase in tone.

"I thought Ser-Ket would have at least informed you of that, but then again she did seem to be somewhat out of character when we spoke."

"When was that my Lord?" Rip-Claw asked, her curiosity spiking at her Master's words.

"Two days ago, you were busy torturing your Autobot prisoners at the time. She seemed to be showing a lot of compassion towards our enemies, which I found to be worrying. Tell me, have you witnessed any similar behavior from your sister?" Galvatron asked, earning a thoughtful expression from the Femme as she looked away for a moment.

"As a matter of fact my Lord, I have noticed a sharp change in my Sister's actions. Especially towards our current and final Autobot prisoner, who I am ashamed to admit has managed to resist all my methods of extracting information from him."

The Predacon leader gave a slight smile in return, as he could not help but feel a certain respect towards anyone who could show such determination.

"I see, that is quite an achievement from one of our enemies. But tell me, what exactly has Ser-Ket been doing that has you concerned?"

"I proposed to my sister that while I spend my time inflicting tremendous amounts of pain to our prisoner, she would then appear as a sympathetic face who would slowly gain his confidence and that I would hope, in time would spill any secrets he was holding. But over the last two days, she has become increasing protective of him and openly ridiculed my efforts to break him." the Femme responded with concerned tone that was tinged with a touch of anger.

"Well in that case, I suggest you take a closer look at your Sister and report back to me with what you find. Can you do that?" Galvatron replied, before the familiar voice of Six-shot was heard in the background, making the Predacon leader turn away.

"My Lord, heavy cruiser wings Gamma, Epsilon and Theta are nearing their positions. We need your presence in the CIC."

"I will be right there Six-shot." Galvatron said back before returning his attention to the Femme.

"You have your orders, Galvatron out." he said before the screen went black, leaving the Predacon alone in the room as she activated her holo-tool.

"Computer, unlock security cameras for Brig zero-one and give me a report on their current status."

"Cameras are still active and can be viewed by anyone with access." the synthesized voice spoke back, earning a smile from the Femme.

"Very good, now show me what has been recorded over the last few days."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Quickstrike made his way down the corridor as fast and stealthily as possible, which would have appeared to have been a contradiction in itself, had it not been for the fact that the corridors were all but empty at this point.

_'Where is everyone?'_  he thought while continuing to move forward, because apart from the two guards he killed when he escaped his cell, the Autobot had yet to encounter anymore and this bothered him more than he liked.

' _Am I being played here? Did Ser-Ket merely act like she was going to help and is really in league with her sister after all?_ ' he thought as he turned a corner, suddenly finding himself just a few yards away from three Terracons. The enemies had their backs to the Bot and had not yet noticed him, so Quickstrike hid inside the doorway of another room and peeked out at the soldiers.

' _Well, that's just perfect. I want to go that way, and they happen to he blocking me._ ' he thought as he watched them. But before he could dwell on that thought any more, the lights in the corridor began to deactivate and activate randomly, gaining the Terracons attention and earning a smile from the Bot.

' _I guess that answers that question._ ' he thought.

And so Quickstrike moved out of cover and rushed the enemies, killing one with a shot to the head. As that one fell to the ground, the other two turned round and faced the Escapee.

"Get him!" one shouted while the other leapt at the Autobot, his sharp claws bared. But Quickstrke simply fired several shots into the torso of the Terracon, sending him flying into the wall.

"You'll pay for that!" the last soldier shouted as he started to change right before Quickstrike's eyes.

' _Not again._ ' the Bot thought, the sight evoking memories of the last time he saw this and what happened then. The Terracon now in its beast mode immediately swung its razor sharp claws at the Autobot who narrowly dodged it and then aimed his pistol at the enemy's head. But then with almost lightning quick reflexes, the Terracon knocked the gun out of Quickstrike's hand and then punched the bot in the stomach which immediately winded him as he fell to his hands and knees.

"Puny Autobot." the Terracon said with a humorous tone as he stood over the Escapee and readied his claws for the death blow. Quickstrike though noticed what looked like a combat knife on the floor to his right.

' _That must have fell from the utility belts of the other two._ ' the Bot thought as an idea came to mind. Suddenly the enemy swung his claws down at the bot who fell flat onto his stomach, allowing the claws to swipe past his back by a mere few inches, earning a surprised look from the Terracon. Quickstrike the rolled on his side to his right and grabbed the knife, as the Con then lunged at him again.

"You little s..." he said before being cut off by the sharp painful feeling in his chest, so he looked down to see the combat knife embedded in his chest and Quickstrike looking up at him as he knelt there. The Bot simply stared up into the Terracon's eyes as they glazed over, a second later and he was dead so Quickstrike let the body fall to the ground before removing the combat knife from his chest.

' _Since my holo-tool/blade isn't working yet, this will come in handy._ ' he thought as he cleaned the blade on his leg and then connected it to his utility belt. The Autobot got to his feet and carried on down the corridor for a long moment before something caught his eyes and he stopped again. He was now standing in front or a door that he recognised from Ser-Ket's map so he tapped the control panel on it's right side, opening the door and making Quickstrike smile as he looked inside.

_'Now that will most definitely come in handy._ ' he thought before entering the room.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

'Well, it is done.' Ser-Ket thought as she deactivated the computer terminal at her station, for the Femme had just made the changes to the ship's security protocols that would hopefully give Quickstrike the chance he would need to get to the shuttle-bay. And she had made sure that if anyone were to come upon the said changes, that she would not be implicated. So the Femme walked past the Terracons, whose attention remained firmly on their own work as they worked away at their terminals.

' _I hope Quickstrike has had no problems so far._ ' she thought as she left the CIC and began walking down the corridor.

' _I have tried to ensure that all the patrols will be diverted away from him as he makes his way to the shuttle-bay._ ' she thought while walking past two Terracons, who suddenly stopped and looked back at the Femme. And as she carried on, unbeknownst to what was going on behind her. One of the two then tapped his com-link.

"Commander Rip-Claw, we have Ser-Ket in our sights. What are your orders?"

"Just follow her and don't let her spot you, understand?" an agitated voice replied, earning a nod from the Con.  
"Yes Commander."

The two Terracons then began following an unknowing Ser-Ket.

Meanwhile Rip-Claw was still in the ready room looking through recordings of both Ser-Ket and their Autobot prisoner, and she was getting more and more agitated at what she was seeing.

' _So I have what looks like suspicious footage of my sister, but yet none of it has the audio to further confirm it._ ' she thought while watching the pair as they appeared to be talking.

"What are you two talking about?" Rip-Claw asked aloud with a frustrated tone. But suddenly as if someone had heard her, a holo orb materialized beside her and hovered there.

"May I be of service?" it spoke, surprising the Femme.

"What? Who are you?"

"I am your personal VI Captain, may I be of help to you?" it replied, earning a curious look from Rip-Claw.

' _Stupid machine thinks I am the Captain, well I guess it could be useful._ ' she thought.

"I wish to know what is being said on these videos."

"Of course Captain, I will just run the speech recognition program. This will take only a moment." the VI replied before a new feature appeared on the holo-screen, one that looked like subtitles.

"Now that's what I wanted, thank you." the Femme said before focusing her attention on the screen and read the dialogue that appeared on the screen below both her sister and the Autobot prisoner.

"...but...Quickstrike." the Autobot said.

"What?" Ser-Ket replied.

"My name is Quickstrike." the Bot said back, making Rip-Claw's eyes widen at what she read.

' _She lied, she lied to me. My own sister._ ' she thought as her spark started burn with anger, clenching one hand into a fist while raising her other to her com-link.

"Tell me, where is my Sister now?" she asked.

"Commander, Ser-Ket is currently..." one of the Terracons replied before being cut off by the almost deafening sound of the alarms as they began blaring out down the corridors.

"What in the Allspark is that?" Rip-Claw shouted as she tried to hear her soldier's voice over the noise.

"She is...wait?" the Terracon replied with a worried but alert tone all of a sudden, which did not go unnoticed by the Predacon.

"What? Explain..."

"Commander, we had her in our sights. But suddenly the emergency lighting activated and now... we've lost her."  
"Find her!" Rip-Claw screamed as her anger flared up.

"Yes sir!" the Terracon replied with fear in his voice before the transmission ended and the Predacon was left to her own thoughts again, though now they were burning like never-ending fires in her mind, until one thought broke through and made her eyes widen.

' _I know what she is trying to do. My Sister, my dear Sister. You will pay for betraying us….for betraying me._ '

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Ser-Ket moved at a brisk pace down another one of the many identical corridors that made up the Achilles, while making her way towards the shuttle bay.

' _I could of sworn those Terracons were following me._ ' she thought as she neared her destination, thinking back to several minutes earlier before her modifications to the security protocols took effect.

' _But they couldn't have surely, since no one would have been able guess what I had planned._ '

Once at the door, the Femme pressed the buttons on the control panel on its left side which opened the door and allowed her access. Ser-ket then locked the door open with her holo-tool and ran over to the nearest shuttle, hoping to get it ready for Quickstrike when he arrived.

But just as she opened the hatch and prepared to climb inside, another voice gained her attention.

"Ser-Ket, Ser-Ket there you are."

The Femme looked back to see Quickstrike as he joined her side, and she noticed that he looked better then he did earlier, though the bruises were still visible.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, earning a smile from the Bot.

"I'm feeling alright, that shot you had me take certainly helped. Thanks for that."

"Your welcome, now I just need to get the shuttle ready for you and then you are free to leave." the Femme replied as she climbed on board the shuttle, but when she looked back at the blonde man looking back at her through the hatch, she saw a concerned expression on his face.

"You sure you don't want to come with me?" he asked in earnest. The Predacon looked back, clearly taken back by his question with an expression that was part appreciative and the other saddened.

"We have been over this Quickstrike, you know why I can't go." she answered in a similarly sad tone.

"Neither of you will be going anywhere." a familiar Female voice called out, gaining the attention of both of them as they looked back at the shuttle-bay's entrance. There they saw Rip-Claw in the company of several Terracons, who all had their weapons trained on the pair.

"I think you will find it impossible to activate that shuttle sister, since I have placed the entire ship on lock-down." the older sister said with real disdain in her voice before looking at the Bot.

"And you...Quickstrike, you will tell me everything and that will just be the beginning of further hell for you." she said, earning a knowing look from Ser-Ket as she realised that her sister somehow knew everything.

"I'll die first." the Autobot said as he reached for his pistol but stopped as the Terracons stepped forward with their guns trained on him.

"If you are thinking of a kamikaze attack, I would think again, since my soldiers are such very good shots." Rip-Claw said back before looking at her sister with a real pained and angry expression.

"Before I hand you to Lord Galvatron for what you have done, I just want to know...why? Why have you betrayed us, and for an Autobot of all things?"

"I di..." Ser-Ket began to say before Quickstrike cut her off as he took a step ahead of her.

"Ser-Ket doesn't have to explain her actions to the likes of you."

The Femme was again taken back by the actions of this Autobot, who even though she had gone through all the effort to get him out of danger, had suddenly placed himself between her and that same danger.

' _He knows what they would do to me if the extent of my thoughts and worries came out into the open._ ' she thought as she noticed that the Bot had his hand behind his back and it was holding a grey metallic cylinder.

"Isn't that cu..." Rip-Claw started to say back before her eyes noticed that Quickstrike was hiding one of his hands, as the other one was hovering over his hoisted pistol.

"What do you have behind your back, I demand you show me now or..." the older Predacon said back in a slightly panicked tone and she signaled the Terracons, who took another step toward the pair.

"If you insist." Quickstrike replied with a lopsided grin as he revealed his other hand and the object currently in it's grip. Rip-Claw's eyes widened as she recognised it, as did the Terracons and even Ser-Ket.

"A detonator!" the older sister stated, earning a nod from the Bot who then pressed his thumb down on the red button on it's top.

Meanwhile lights activated in the room that Quickstrike had found earlier, revealing it to be an armoury and munitions locker that had a timer connected to several drums of explosives that suddenly lit up and began counting down from five seconds on the clock. The second it hit zero, the room exploded into a massive fireball that expanded out and down the corridors, incinerating any Terracons that were unfortunate to get in it's way. The explosion also breached the ship's hull as civilians looked out of the windows of their homes to see a funnel of black smoke rise up from the side of the cruiser as it sat next to the command tower of Omicron city.

Back on board the Achilles, the fireball was almost upon the shuttle-bay despite it gradually dissipating. Rip-Claw looked back to see the fiery glow getting ever closer to them through the open door of the bay, as Quickstrike pulled Ser-Ket into his arms and shielded her from the incoming explosion.

"Close the door!" she shouted at the Terracon closest to the door's controls, who panicked as he turned and began hitting all the buttons on it.

"It's not working, the door won't..." he managed to say before the fireball burst through the open doorway, engulfing him while throwing all the other Terracons, Rip-Claw included to the floor.

A moment later and as the emergency lighting flickered on and off, all the enemies in the shuttle-bay were subdued and dazed as Quickstrike held Ser-Ket in an embrace before pulling back slightly and looking the Femme in the eyes.

"You okay?" he asked in a gentle tone, earning a nod from female who then looked past him and noticed three of the Terracons slowly getting to the feet while reaching for their rifles.

"Quickstrike, behind you!"

The Autobot suddenly spun round with his pistol and killed all three, sending them onto their backs with smoking bullet holes in their heads. Quickstrike then got to his feet and held his hand out to the Femme, who looked up at him with a curious expression.

"Come with me, you can't stay here now." he then said which made Ser-Ket simply stare at the Bot's eyes, noticing how sincere he was looking while holding out his held to her. What felt like a long moment passed before the Femme then reached up and placed her hand into his, who gently yet firmly clasped his around hers and helped Ser-Ket to her feet.

"Lets go." he said with a slight smile, one that for some reason made the Predacon feel better, despite the situation they were both in and she smiled back and nodded.

"Okay." she replied as the pair moved for the charred doorway, when suddenly Quickstrike felt something grab at his ankle with a vice-like grip.

"Aggh, what the fuck!" he exclaimed as both he and the Femme looked down to see Rip-Claw lying on her front, her arm outstretched and gripped around his leg.

"Neither of you will get of..." the injured Predacon started to say before being cut off by Ser-Ket who kicked her sister in the face, knocking her unconscious and causing her to release the Autobot. Quickstrike looked back at his new ally with a surprised expression.

"Ser-Ket, that was..."

"She deserves worse, but we don't have time. The other Terracons will swarm this area soon enough, so we should go."  
The bot nodded in return before picking up two rifles and handing the Femme one, and then the pair stood either side of the doorway as they readied themselves to move.

"Okay, is there another way off the ship? One that isn't held up by the lock-down."

"Yes there is, the escape pods. They are on a different system that is not impaired by the security protocols, and should be on deck above us." Ser-Ket replied.

"Good, lets go then." Quickstrike replied as they both walked out of the shuttle-bay, leaving Rip-Claw and what remained of her team unconscious on the floor.

Once in the corridor which at this moment was empty, Quickstrike looked down both sides before looking back at Ser-Ket with a confused expression.

"Which way?" he asked, making the Femme point to their right.

"That way should lead us to a Jeffries tube that will get us to the deck below, don't want to be using the elevators now."

"Good call..." he replied with a smile, earning a mirroring look from the Predacon that nearly made him blush.

"...Alright, you lead the way and I will guard our rear." he added as the both started down the corridor, but not before hearing the sounds of footfalls approaching quickly from the other side of the corridor, as shadows could be seen on the wall going round the corner.

"We need to hurry." Ser-Ket replied, earning a nod from the Autobot as he followed her down the opposite side of the corridor. And after running down what felt like a never-ending corridor, the pair came across what looked barely like a hatch in the floor ahead of them.

"There, that's our ticket off this floor." she said before kneeling down next to it and opening a hidden control panel next to it, meanwhile Quickstrike kept lookout down both sides of the corridor.

"Any idea how long this will take? Because we are don't have any cover here." he asked, while the Femme punched in a few key commands into the panel's keypad.

"This should only take a minute, just keep you eyes..." Ser-Ket replied before she stopped and sniffed the air, it was something that caught the Autobot completely off guard as the Femme's face went serious as she looked back at him.

"They will be here in moments, I need you to cover me. Can you?" she asked in a serious, but in no way insulting tone.  
"Sure, just let me know when you done." Quickstrike replied in a mirroring way, before the Predacon looked back to her work.

"To your right." she suddenly said just a second before a Terracon stormed around the corner of the corridor on his right, making Quickstrike raise his rifle and shoot the enemy dead. Then another and another and another followed the first, all which fell to the ground with bullet holes in their chests. The Autobot then glanced down to see that Ser-Ket had finished with the control panel and had turned her attention to the hatch, which now had a hand hold on either side of it.

"Want a hand with that?" he asked as the Femme grabbed hold of the hatch and began to pull, before he turned his eyes back towards right hand side of the corridor, just as more Terracons appeared.

"I've got it." she replied over the sounds of gunfire, a smile was present on her face as she looked down at the hatch.

' _How cute._ ' she thought as she gripped the hand holds and pulled, opening the hatch in one go.

"Now!" she exclaimed as the Autobot gunned down the latest wave of Terracons on the right side, he then looked down at the now open hatch and the cute looking Predacon Femme kneeling down beside it. An impressed expression was evident on his face as he smiled at her.

"Wow, your strong." he said with a hint of shyness to his voice.

"I know...are you worried?" she replied with a mischievous tone, one that again made the bot's cheeks heat up.

"No...not at all." he said while almost stammering, which made the Femme smile.

' _Yes, he is very cute._ ' she thought before spotting three Terracons approaching them from the other side of the corridor behind Quickstrike. So she equipped her rifle and fired a burst of bullets past the bot and into the enemies, felling them instantly.

"Lets move."

"Ladies first." Quickstrike replied which made the Femme smile again as she climbed down into the Jeffries tube, quickly followed by the bot who then closed the hatch behind him.

It didn't take them long to climb down the almost claustrophobic Jeffries tube, as Ser-Ket reached the hatch that led to the next deck below her. She looked up to see Quickstrike's backside just above her as the bot climbed down the ladder.

' _Nice ass._ ' she thought before keying another combination into the keypad that was next to the hatch, causing it to unlock and open. The Femme the dropped out into the corridor and found that it was empty, despite the emergency lighting flickering on and off.

"Its clear, but watch the drop...its higher than it looks." she said as Quickstrike dropped out and landed next to her, a confident smile on his face.

"I got it." he replied casually before equipping his rifle, the Femme simply shook her head as she does the same.

"The escape pods should be just down here." she said back as they moved down the corridor towards another T-junction.

"Just past this left tur..." the Femme added as she turned the corner and was met by a fist to the face, which made her stumble back a little disoriented. The another punch flew towards her, but this time Quickstrike blocked it and punched back, hitting the face of the Terracon who had ambushed her.

But as the Autobot went to take on this enemy, he the felt a foot slam into his back as another Terracon revealed itself. Both bot and Femme tried to recover as they were surrounded by the two Predacon soldiers, who looked at them with discontent.

"You okay?" Quickstrike asked as Ser-Ket felt her jaw.

"I'm fine." she replied before being cut off by the Terracons.

"Silence, you are both under arrest. As say he orders of Commander Rip-Claw." one soldier replies before tapping his com-link.

"We have them Commander, right where you said they would be."

"Good, hold them there until I arrive." an angry female voice said back from the other side of the link. Both Ser-Ket and Quickstrike glanced at each other.

"Want to see your sister again?" the bot asked, making the Femme shake her head in response.

"Not particularly."

"Then let's get out of here." he replied, earning angry stares from the Terracons.

"You will not..." one started to say before both Cons were suddenly made to defend themselves as the pair of escapees lunged at them. Quickstrike threw a punch, which one enemy blocked but he had no chance with the round house kick that then connected with his face, which sent him back into the wall.

Ser-Ket meanwhile kicked the other in the face, before spinning around and back kicking him in the chest which made him stumble backwards. The Autobot had caught a glimspe of the Femme's attack and could not help but be impressed as he grabbed a punch from his opponent and countered by elbowing him in the face.

' _Most impressive._ ' he thought while still holding onto his Terracon's arm, twisted it behind the enemy's back and then roundhouses him in the chest. Little did he realise, or maybe he should have but Ser-Ket too had secretly glimpsed him too and liked what she had witnessed.

' _I bet he would be good to spar with._ ' she thought as she too locked her opponent in an arm-lock, and then broke that arm by slamming down on her shoulder armour. This caused the Terracon to cry out in pain, but he was quickly silenced by Ser-Ket who elbowed him in the throat and followed it through with a back fist, which knocked the Con out and sent him to unconsciousness as his body fell to the floor in a heap.

"I'm done, how's yours?" the Femme asked as she looked back to see the Autobot throw his opponent to the floor and then kick him in the face, earning the same result.

"Me too." he replied with a smirk, earning a smile from the Predacon.

"Good, its right around this corner." she added while gesturing to the left, so the pair walked around the corner to see the large round metallic hatches sticking out of the wall.

"I just have to prep for launch and deactivate it's tracking beacon, wouldn't want my sister to be able to follow us."

"Good call." the Bot replied as he watched her using her holo-tool. After a moment the hatch opened and revealed the spherical interior of the escape pod, which was quite small but still large enough for two persons.

"Get in..." Ser-Ket said before looking over Quickstrike's shoulder and spotting Rip-Claw further down the corridor.

"...Now!" the femme added as she pushed Quickstrike, who did what she said and climbed into the pod before she did the same. Her sister charged toward their position with Terracons following close behind, her face was one of rage as she grippes her weapon.

"Stop them!" she shouted as more Terracons approached from the other side of the same corridor. But by the time both groups arrived at the escape pod hatch, Ser-Ket had already closed and locked it.

"Get this thing open now!" the Predacon spat as the troops around her hurried and tried to open it.

Inside the pod, Ser-Ket took control with the holo-interface while Quickstike watched.

"Don't worry, they can't get in." the Femme said after noticing that the bot had glanced back at the hatch after hearing the Terracons banging on the other side.

"Alright, so where do we go. I guess we're not going into space now?"

"No, this escape pod doesn't have the power or fuel to make orbit. So it will just get us away from here." she replied as she typed on the holo-keyboard.

"In that case..." Quickstrike said back as he leaned over the Predacon, surprising her a little.

"Get us. as close as you can to these coördinates." he continued as he typed the numbers into the destination matrix, as Ser-Ket watched him curiously.

"Where's that lead?" she asked.

"There should be a hidden escape shuttle in that area, it was for VIPs." he said back, earning a nod from her before she retook control of the user interface.

"Okay sit back down then, because we are out of here." the Predacon replied before pressing the flashing ignition button to her left, which made the pod shake as the engines powered up and fired. The force of the engine pushed the pair back into their seats as the escape pod launched out of the Achilles's hull, soaring through the sky dusk sky and into the distance as it left the Omicron colony behind.

Rip-Claw just stood there, looking at the open space in front of her that moments earlier housed the very escape pod that her sister and their Autobot prisoner had just escaped in and gritted her teeth as her anger was now on verge of exploding. But she tried to restrain herself as she tapped her com-link.

"I want that pod tracked now!" she spat as the Terracons around her watched with worried expressions, unsure of how their Commander was going to act.

"I apologise Commander, but it appears the pod's tracker has been deactivated." another Con replied over the link, which made the Femme clench her free hand extremely tightly.

"Then use the ship's sensors, get a lock on it." she replied, before wating another moment for the CIC to answer.

"Again we are sorry Commander, it seems the damage from the armoury on the deck above you has severed one of the primary power conduits. We have lost control of the sensors."

And it was with this answer that Rip-Claw completely lost it, as she suddenly grabbed the neck of the nearest Terracon and snapped it, The Femme then turned on another and severally beat him as the others recoile in fear at the sheer brutality their Commander was showing.

"Commander, Commander are you there?" the CIC asked worriedly before the Femme stopped and stood over the Terracon that was now slumped against the wall, it was barely recognisable due to it's face being so badly beaten. Rip-Claw though did not even flinch as blood stained on the knuckles of both her hands.

"Get it all repaired...do it now!" she then stated in a voice so angry that it sounded somewhat shaky.

"Yes Commander...of course sir." the CIC replied in fearful voice as the Femme looked over at the Terracons standing away from her.

"Take him to the Medi-Bay and leave me...Now!" she spat, gaining a universal nod from the Terracons who fearfully helped up their unconscious comrade and retreated away from the Predacon. Who simply stood there and looked down at her bloody hands in complete silence.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Ser-Ket and Quickstrike walked through the dense foliage of what looked like a forest in the black of night, the only light they had to illuminate their path was from the torches that they had equipped to their utility belts. The pair had walked for almost an hour after their escape pod had crash landed a few kilometers behind them.

Quickstrike had used his holo-tool, which was now fully active to give them the direction of the escape shuttle that he said should still be available to use. Ser-Ket though had noticed that the bot was now starting to look tired as he began to stumble through the greenery.

"I think we should stop and rest, there is no way the Rip-Claw will find us, so we should be safe….at least for tonight." she said as she walked closely behind the Autobot who kept his eyes on both his holo-tool and the forest before them.

"I'm okay Ser-Ket, just a….little…. out of breath." he said before suddenly falling to his hands and knees.

"Quickstrike!" the Femme shouted as she rushed to his side, the concern in voice evident as she placed her hand on his shoulder. Ser-Ket could feel Quickstrike physically shaking as he breathed heavily, his entire body was close to collapse.

"I felt fine fifteen minutes ago, but now I feel like I like road-kill all of a sudden." the Bot replied as he looked at the Femme, he could see how concerned she was for him and that lifted his spark.

"I guess that shot you gave me has lost its effect." he added, earning a nod from Ser-Ket.

"That would be my guess…" she replied as she looked down at his holo-tool screen.

"Your map says we are still half a day's journey from your escape shuttle, we won't make it now. So I say we rest up and head off when it is lighter." the Femme added as she looked at the map again.

"Your holo-tool is detecting a cave about one hundred feet away, lets go."

Ser-Ket then helped Quickstrike to his feet and together they made their way through the forest until they came to a cliff-face and found the entrance to the cave, which was dark and not at all inviting.

"This will do." Ser-Ket said as they walked out of the cool night air and into the rocky interior until they reached a dead end, which was evident by the natural rock-like wall that greeted them. So the Femme helped him to sit down and they removed their survival backpacks that they took from the escape pod. The fPredacon opened hers and took out a rolled up sleeping bag which she then laid out next to the Bot.

"Okay, you should wrap yourself up and get some sleep." she said in a caring tone, Quickstrike nodded and then climbed into the sleeping bag. Once settled in, he looked up at the Femme with a curious look.

"What about you?"

"I will let you rest and take the first watch, you can take over for me once you feel up to it." Ser-Ket replied as she held her rifle and looked down at him.

"So…sleep well and I will wake you in a couple of hours."

"If there is any trouble…" the bot began to say back before the Predacon cut him off.

"If there is, then you won't need me to wake you up. Now go to sleep."

Quickstrike sighed as he nodded in return, silently surrendering to the Femme and he lied down on his side and closed his eyes. Ser-ket then turned away from the sleeping Bot and focused her attention on the cave entrance, as she leaned against the cave wall.

' _Well here I am, on the run from my own people with a member of the very people who mine are now at war with. And yet…._ ' she thought as she looked back at the now fast asleep Quickstrike, noticing how cute he looked as he slept.

'… _I feel more relaxed here, than I ever did with them._ '

She sighed as she looked back out of the cave as the breeze slowly increased, rustling the leaves of the trees outside and wondered what was next for the pair and if they were going to be able to escape the inevitable wrath of her Sister and the other Predacons.

 


	20. Chapter 20

_'The breeze was soft and calm as it brushed the long grass which then gently moved in a unified effect, looking like an ocean at peace as Ser-Ket took in her surroundings. The Predacon found herself standing a valley that seemed to spread out all the way to the mountains in the distance, with two moons overhead that were surrounded by hundreds of thousands of stars. It left the Femme breathless as she enjoyed the peaceful sight, her spark completely calm and tranquil._

_But it was not meant to last as a sudden gust of wind blew through the valley, making all the greenery wither and die immediately. Ser-Ket could not believe it as she took a step back at the horrifying sight of the valley transforming around her while storm clouds gathered overhead, blotting out the night sky and darkening the entire area. Suddenly bolts of lightning streaked across the sky and lit up the devastated valley and caused the Femme to shield her eyes with her hands as the energy flowing through the bolts was immensely bright and blinding. This was then followed by thunder that boomed over head in a deafening fashion, which felled Ser-Ket to her knees as she grasped at her ears as it felt as if they had been burned by such powerful noise._

_As the Femme knelt there on the floor, the thunder soon started to sound like roars similar to those she had heard from Predaking and the other Dragon-like Predacons. So she looked up to suddenly find herself in a battle between two sets of metallic dragons, one which had giant wings and flew and the others which did not and remained grounded. The beasts were biting and clawing at each other as they fought, completely ignoring the human woman in their midst._

_Ser-Ket did not know where to move as every avenue of escape was blocked off by one of the immense beasts, just as one caught her attention as it flew above her. The femme looked up and could of sworn that it was looking directly at her, but then she had her answer as it roared and swooped down towards her. So she turned and began running, dodging and evading more of the metallic beasts._

_She saw one of the flightless ones latch onto the foot of a flyer and use it's weight to pull it down to the ground, where another of it's kind then pounced on it and ripped it's throat out with its own teeth. But Ser-Ket could not stand and watch such a spectacle as she heard the wings flapping just behind her and knew that the dragon was on her heels, so she kept running over the charred and rock like ground that a short time earlier was covered in long then a shadow flew over her and caused the Femme to suddenly stop as she looked up to see that the dragon that had followed her had now overtaken her and landed just in front, blocking the Predacon's escape._

_The metallic Beast looked down at her with its yellow glowing optics, bearing it's razor sharp teeth in a hostile fashion that left the defenseless Predacon fearing for her spark. The Beast then opened it's jaws wide and lunged it's head at Ser-ket, who could do nothing more but turn round and cower in fear as she closed her eyes and tried to wish the Beast and the hellish surroundings away._

_When suddenly she felt another high gust of wind blow past her as another roar was heard, but this one for some strange reason did not leave her spark feeling terrified in any way. As this happened, there were sounds of a struggle behind as the beast that had pursued her suddenly cried out in pain and was suddenly silenced, making the Femme open her eyes and gasp as the sight around her had changed once more._

_For the battle had ended and the flightless dragons were now all standing around her in quiet composure as their optics focused on the being that was so completely different to themselves. Ser-Ket just looked at them in open mouthed surprise before heavy breathing behind her caught the Femme's attention. So she turned around and her eyes widened as standing before her was a metallic dragon that looked similar to Predaking. It had aqua blue light glowing from beneath it's jet-black armour and blue glowing optics that were focused directly on her, and Ser-ket felt as if it was looking directly into her spark._

_She did not know how or why, but the Femme could tell that the beast did not have any hostile intent for her and in fact now that she had a good look at the dragon, she felt that she might actually know the creature. So she took a step toward it and the black beast lowered it's head toward her, never taking it's optics off her. Ser-Ket raised her hand and reached out to touch the snout of the creature as it breathed in and out in a deep rhythmic fashion that was almost hypnotic in nature._

_The Femme for some strange reason that was at the moment unknown to her felt completely at ease in the creature's presence as her hand and the snout of the beast touched, earning a purring like sound from it as it's optics closed, like it enjoyed her touch which left Ser-Ket confused. Not only by this moment, but by the entire event she was experiencing._

_But then suddenly the beast withdrew it's head from the Femme's touch and looked up at the sky, as did the other dragons as if they all sensed something coming. Ser-Ket mirrored them as she tried to see what it was that they had noticed, but there was nothing for her to see as the storm clouds had broken apart and revealed the star filled sky again. Then suddenly the ground began to shake as an earthquake ripped through the land, causing the dragons to panic and roar as they charged around in a frenzy._

_But the black dragon remained calm among the chaos that was erupting around it, as it turned it's head back to Se-Ket and looked down at her. A single tear ran down the Femme's face which surprised her as she wiped it away and looked back at the beast, for she had no idea why she had started crying. But suddenly felt a great sadness in her spark, when suddenly a massive explosion occurred on the horizon and it's energy wave expanded out in all directions._

_Ser-Ket felt like she should start to run but realised there was no where she could go as the wave sped towards her and the mysterious black dragon that just kept watching her, so she just stayed where she was and looked back at the beast before suddenly they were both enveloped by the energy wave that felt so white-hot, that they both were incinerated instantly._

_But that was not the end as Ser-Ket suddenly found herself lying down in complete darkness and unable to move as her arms and legs were restrained by something she could not see, though she could feel it's cold metal gripping her skin tightly as she struggled and tried to free herself. Then her spark felt fearful again as she found herself in the center of a red spotlight which was being emitted from a red circular light that was shining down from above her. Ser-Ket felt as if this red light was looking at her and she then heard machinery coming to life and she screamed out as a pain went through her entire body as the red light became so bright that it enveloped her entirely.'_

Ser-Ket then opened her eyes and screamed as she rose out of her sleeping bed, as Quickstrike rushed to her side and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Ser-Ket!" he said as he noticed her body was covered in sweat and was shaking nearly uncontrollably, so he picked out a blanket from her survival pack and wrapped it around the Femme who looked at him with a confused expression.

"Quickstrike?"

"You had a nightmare, by the looks of it." he replied as he squatted beside her, but Ser-Ket just looked ahead as his words his words dwelled on her mind.

' _Another one._ ' she thought, before noticing the Autobot looking at her.

"What?"

"What was it about?" he asked with a curious tone

"The nightmare?" she said back, gaining a nod from the Bot.

"Yeah, because the way you were thrashing around in your sleeping bag made it look rather bad?" he replied, earning a thoughtful expression from the Femme who looked ahead and tried to focus.

' _Bad, thats one way to explain it._ ' she thought as she took a deep breath and calmed herself.

"It's hard to put into words..." she started to say, making Quickstrike turn away from her.

"I see, well I was just wanted to know if there was anything I could do..." he said before he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked back to see the Femme with a slight smile on her face.

"I appreciate that Quickstrike, but I was going to tell you"

"Oh, well I'm sorry for assuming..." he then began to stammer as shyness crept into the tone of his voice, which made the Ser-Ket's smile grow a little bigger.

"It's okay, so anyway. What I remember feels like a wall of images, like I am looking at paintings. But I know for certain that there were dragons in this dream."

"Dragons like that blue and white one that attacked the Fearless?" Quckstrike replied, earning a nod from the Femme.

"Yes like Skystalker, exactly. And they were fighting each other" she answered, as the Autobot dwelled on the beast, finally being able to put a name to the face.

' _So that's its name._ '

"The dragons were fighting each other in the valley I was standing in, literally tearing each other apart." Ser-Ket added.

"Were all the dragons the same?" the bot asked in return, making her shake her head in return.

"No, there were two groups. One side had wings, the others did not."

"What do you think it means?" Quickstrike asked.

"I have no idea, I mean the others all remember their time before being reawakened by Galvatron. And they have said that Predaking was the Predacon leader." the Femme said, earning another curious look from Quickstrike.

"Predaking?"

"That's the name of the largest of the beast Predacons at Galvaton's disposal. He is far larger than both Skystalker and Grimwing." she explained, making the bot's eyes widen in response.

"There are two more of those dragons, and they are larger."

The Femme nodded in return.

"Yes, but the other Predacons believe that Predaking was their original leader. They can all remember that time, but Galvatron made a strong case for his leadership and everyone bought it." Ser-Ket replied before sighing, which caught Quickstrike's attention.

"What is it?"

"Why can everyone else remember what happened before, but I can't?" she replied with a frustrated tone.

"Perhaps these dreams are made up of fragments of memories from that time that you have forgotten, and this is the only way you can access them." the blonde Autobot said back in a thoughtful way that brought a slight smile to her face.

"That's some explanation you have there, I'm impressed."

"I am just trying to help." the bot replied as he mirrored her smile that unbeknownst to him, warmed her spark.

"Thank you, though I don't think these dreams are just made up of memories, if that is what they are. I can sense a lot of emotion in them too."

"Well whatever they are, I promise to help you figure it all out once we are off this planet." Quickstrike replied, surprising Ser-Ket.

"You would help me with that?" she asked as her eyes met his.

"Of course I will. Because if it wasn't for you, then I would have been broken by that sadistic sister of yours otherwise and then tortured for Primus knows how long." he said back with a warm smile that Ser-Ket could have sworn made her spark miss a beat.

"Alright, well I guess we should get moving then. How long do we have to go before we get to the escape shuttle?"

"We have half a day's walking to do, but before that I think breakfast would is in order." Quickstrike replied as he turned back to the survival packs and pulled out a ration each, handing one to Ser-Ket.

"How are you feeling now?" she asked as the bot opened the ration and took a bite, before pulling a face that said the ration did not taste very good.

"Uggh...well other than hungrier for something that doesn't taste like cardboard..." he replied while holding up the biscuit with a large bite mark in it.

"...I am feeling much better, those hours long sleep I had did the trick." he continued as Ser-Ket looked down at her food and opened the packaging.

"That's good." she simply responded before taking a bite out of the ration biscuit as they both then sat in comfortable silence and ate their breakfast, no matter how bland and tasteless it was.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile back at the Achilles, Rip-Claw was nearly climbing the walls with anger as she awaited news from the Terracon engineering teams that were currently attempting to repair the damage that was caused by her sister and that Autobot scum several hours earlier.

' _What is taking so long, my sister needs to be found and made to pay for making a fool out of me. As does that Autobot, who deserves nothing more than to spend eternity being tortured for no other reason than my enjoyment._ ' she thought as she paced back and forth in her quarters with her hands held behind her back.

But the Terracons weren't exactly known for their engineering skills, even if they were fast learners and this had the Femme worried.

' _The longer this takes, the more chances are that my sister and that Autobot scum will get away...we need to be out there...NOW!_ ' she thought with enough anger that at that same, she slammed her clenched fist onto her metallic desk, leaving a large dent in it's place.

' _What is taking so long?_ ' she spat in her mind, before her anger was cut off by her com-link beeping, so she tapped it.

"This is Rip-Claw, report."

"Commander, power has been restored. We now have access to the ship's sensors and communications." the Terracon replied.

"Good, start running sensor sweeps and launch a wing of fighters to make aerial searches. I want that pair found." the Femme replied as she then heard the Con gulp on his end of the link.

"What is it?"

"Sir, we are receiving a transmission. It is Lord Galvatron." the Terracon replied worriedly, which made the Femme go quiet as a sense of dread came over her.

' _Perfect, just what I needed._ ' she thought.

"Well sir, should I pass him to you?" the Con asked with a fearful tone.

"Yes, put him through. And get started on those sensor sweeps." Rip-Claw said back, ending the link before the commanding voice of the Predacon Leader was heard.

"Rip-Claw, what has been going on over there?" he said in a tone that the Femme could tell was worrying sign.

"My Lord?" she said back, trying to calm the tone of her voice, in spite of the situation.

"Why has the Achilles been off the grid for the last several hours, I have been trying to contact you without success multiple times. Just what in the pit has been happening?" Galvatron replied, his tone becoming more agitated.

"We have...been experiencing...technical difficulties." the Commander said back, hoping to brush off the Predacon Leader and get back to the task on hand.

"I am now in the middle of taking down Omega and do not have the time for lies." the Predacon Leader said back with narrowed eyes, like he could see right through the Femme.

...And you don't want to anger me further, what has happened?" he added as Rip-Claw looked down t the ground and sighed.

"My lord, the Autobot prisoner has escaped the Achilles." she simply replied, expecting Galvatron to rip her a new one, he did not disappoint on that account.

"WHAT! How in the pit did one measly Autobot manage to evade and escape a ship crewed by many Predacons? I would love to hear how..." he spat with venomous rage at the Femme, making her feel very small in his presence which was quite an achievement considering he was not even there.

"Ser-Ket betrayed us and aided the Autobot in his escape." she replied before tensing up, expecting another tongue lashing from her Lord.

"Ser-Ket did what?" he said back in a tone that sound more calmer than it should have been, in fact Rip-Claw did not know how she should react to it.

"She helped the Autobot escape and then left with him." she answered and for what felt like a long moment, Galvatron remained quiet. Yet the Femme could swear she could hear the Con muttering to himself, it was as if he was talking to someone before he snapped yet again.

"Shut it!" he blared, earning a surprised and confused expression from Rip-Claw, who did not know where to look despite being alone in her quarters.

"I did not say anything my Lord." the Femme replied, earning a growl from the Predacon Lord.

"I was not talking to you!" he snapped back, which heightened her curiosity.

"So who were you talking too?"

"That's none of your business, now I want that traitorous wretch found and brought to me, understand?" Galvatron replied, earning a nod from the Femme.

"I am sending out teams now my Lord, but the planet is large and they had a head start of several hours."

"I don't care about that, you will find both Rip-Claw and this Autobot. I am sending over a code that should help you in locating them both, do not ask l where I got it from." the Predacon Leader said back, as the Femme's holo-screen activated and showed a binary code. One that confused Rip-Claw as she looked at it.

"What is this my Lord?"

"It is a the tracking code for a micro-chip that Shockblast installed in each one of you, on my behalf."

The Femme's eyes widened as she listened to her Leader, clearly shocked by this revelation.

"Are you saying that all of us, your lieutenants have these trackers planted in our bodies, so you can keep an eye on us."

"Yes, they were an idea left behind by the Decepticon scientist Shockwave. I had Shockblast continue the project." he replied, while Rip-Claw was still trying to work it all out in her mind.

"Do you not trust us? Why would you do such a thing."

"Be glad that I did, for it will make finding Ser-Ket and her Autobot pet easier. And now, I do not believe you have any right to question me. Just find Ser-Ket, I would prefer for you to bring her in alive. But if that is too much trouble for you, then dead will suffice."

"And the Autobot?" the Femme asked.

"Just kill him, now get on with it. I have a battle here that needs my full attention, and don't fail me again Rip-Claw. Galvatron out." the Predacon Leader said before the transmission ended and Rip-Claw could not help but feel somewhat shaken by not just what had transpired, but also by the revelation. The Femme though shook her head and activated her holo-tool and linked it to her console, which she tied to the sensor array.

The Predacon did not have time to dwell on such things though, as she felt she was on borrowed time. Time which she had to use wisely if she were to regain her master's favor, so any questions she had would have to wait. So she brought up a map of the continent that the Colony was based, typed in the micro-chip activation code and press sent. Another moment then passed before a ping was heard and a white dot blinked on and off repeatedly over ten kilometers west of the ship.

' _Found you._ ' she thought before tapping her com-link.

"This is Rip-Claw, have a squad of Terracons and Stalkers ready to move out in five minutes."

"Yes Commander, is there anything else?" the Terracon asked on the other end.

"Yes, where is Skystalker at this moment?"

"He is currently perched at the top of Com-Tower, why do you ask?" the Con replied.

"Well I am sending you some coordinates, ones that I wish for the squads to search. And I also want Skystalker to go too, but send him several minutes later. Do you understand?" the Femme said back.

"Yes Commander, it will be done." the Terracon answered before the link shut down, making Rip-Claw smile to herself.

' _One way or another, you will die today my sister._ '

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

The sun was just starting to set as Quickstrike and Ser-Ket walked into a clearing, after walking through the forest for what felt like a long time.

"Finally, I thought we would be looking a trees forever in there." the Femme said while gesturing back to heavy foliage they had just traversed, earning a smile from the bot as he looked back at her.  
"Wait a second, you were saying earlier how beautiful this all was."  
"That was before we entered the never-ending forest, I mean look at that." the Femme replied as she pointed at the mountains that could be seen in the distance.

"Now that too is a beautiful sight."

"Yeah I agree, but right now this looks even better." the Bot said back as pointed ahead of him, gaining Ser-Ket's attention as she looked over to see what looked like a steel and concrete hanger, which had foliage growing over its exterior. It was surrounded by a few smaller buildings, each one had a similar look to it. Meanwhile Ser-Ket started to scratch at something that was itching under the chest plate of her armour, twhich did not go unnoticed by Quickstrike.

"We found it...what is it? The Autobot asked with a concerned expression, but the Femme just shook her head in return.

"I just have an itch under this armour plate, its nothing to worry about." Predacon replied with a smile, hoping that would be enough.

"So this is the place?" she then added, with Quickstrike noticing a touch of disappointment in the Femme's voice.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's just I was expecting a little more, I mean this place looks ancient." the Femme replied as she pointed at the run down building.

"That's just for show, in case any enemies showed up. So that they would think the place is worthless." the Autobot said as they walked up to the building.

"So where is the door?" the Femme asked as she looked at the foliage covered wall in front of them, earning a lop-sided grin from Quickstrike who activated his holo-blade.

He the swiped the area ahead of him with the blade, cutting the vines and making some of the green fall to the ground, revealing the entrance.

"Right here." he answered in a confident tone, which made the Femme smile and sigh.

' _Cute and funny.'_  she thought as the bot then used his holo-tool to open the door, which creaked with the sound of rusted metal as it opened.

"Ladies first." Quickstrike then said as he held his hand ahead of the Femme in a gesture.

"Always the gentleman?" she replied in an almost coy tone.

"Manners were a big thing with my parents." he said back, earning a coy smile from Ser-Ket.

"Lucky me." she said back as she accepted his gesture and entered the hangar first.

Quickstrike walked in after the Femme and closed the door behind him, before joining her side.

"You did say that the exterior looked the way it did to dissuade enemies right? That it wasn't because it was old?" Ser-Ket asked as she looked around the very lowly lit room.

"Yeah..." the bot replied as he tapped his holo-tool and activated the building's interior lighting which then powered up and revealed all to the pair, as it looked like they had stepped into a warehouse as they were surrounded by pallets of supplies and the foliage from outside was also growing on the walls and ceiling inside too.

"Because this place is starting to look old to me again." the Femme said as they looked around the pallets which that were stacked at around several meters tall. And they were all positioned in such a way, that navigating around them would be like trying to make your way through a garden maze. Quickstrike though, looked around the room before his eyes spotted something.

"Look, that's why the interior looks the way it does." he said while pointing at a hole in the wall which the foliage had grown through.

"Must have been damaged during the storm we had last year, thought its impressive that the foliage has grown so much in such a short time." he added as he looked at the map on his holo-tool.

"The shuttle should be at the other side of the hangar, let's go."

Ser-Ket nodded and the pair began walking further into the hangar as they moved in between the hundreds of pallets. A long moment later and they exited the pallet maze to find the shuttle sitting in the corner of the hangar, looking completely untouched.

"There we are, thats our ticket out of here." Quickstrike exclaimed before he opened up it's hatch with his holo-tool, and letting the Femme take a look inside by peeking in the now open hatch.

"Okay, it looks good. though it's not like I didn't believe you when you told me originally." Ser-Ket replied as she bent over, which gave the bot a perfect view of her nicely shaped rear which made him smile as he stole a glance at it. Though unbeknownst to him, Ser-Ket was smiling too as she could feel his eyes on her and she liked it.

' _I don't know why I am doing this._ ' she thought.

'But he is kind, funny and great warrior. He reminds me of someone, though I cannot for life of me remember who.'

"I see we have a small armoury in this shuttle." Ser-Ket said as she climbed in and walked up to the shelves, which had the weapons including rifles, pistols and grenades stacked on them.

But before she said anything else, a faint noise could be outside caught both her and Quickstrike's attention, and it was getting louder as time went on.

"What is that?" the Femme asked as she looked out of the hatch at the bot, who stood there and gripped his rifle.

"Sounds like a shuttle engine, but that is impossible. No one knows about this place." he replied before suddenly the noise became vet loud and a shadow was cast over the hanger's roof.

"They have found us." Ser-Ket said with a knowing dread in her voice.

"But how, I mean there is just no way that they would have known about it." the Autobot said, which then made the Femme's eyes widen as she turned away from him and opened up her chest-plate, which revealed a faint light blinking on and off. It was located near the center of her chest, just above her breasts and it immediately set off alarm bells in her mind.

' _By the Allspark, is that a tracker inside me. It's led them right to us!'_  she thought before Quickstrike's and her attention was caught by the sound a roar from outside, it sounded like a mix of a human and a beast.

"What the hell was that?" Quickstrike said as Ser-Ket re-clothed so that he did not notice the flashing light on her chest, but she recognised the roar instantly.

"Oh great... Stalkers." she replied, earning a curious look from the bot.

"What are Stalkers?"

"They are Terracons who have been forced to stay in their beast mode, and they are used for hunt and destroy missions." the Femme replied as another roar sounded right outside the walls of the hangar.

"How many are there?" Quickstrike asked as clawing and scratching could be heard.

"There are usually around five of them, and they hunt in packs." Ser-Ket replied.

"They sound intelligent."

"Not really, no more so than regular Terracons.." the Femme said back before an idea began to form in her mind, making her smile.

"…Which means we can trick them." she added before heading over to the shuttle's armoury and then returning with something that brought a similar expression from the Autobot.

"You think that will work?" he replied, the Femme nodding in return.

"Yes, all we need is the right bait."

Then the sound of the Stalkers entering the hangar caught the pair's attention as the Femme peeked past the nearest supply pallet to see the Cons entering through the hole in the wall at the other end of the building.

"What kind of bait will do?" Quickstrike then asked, knowing that time was short. But the answer was certainly something he did not expect, as Ser-Ket smiled at him with a knowing look.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

'' _I wish I hadn't asked._ ' the Bot thought as he crept slowly around the supply pallets, with his holo-blade ready with his right hand while he clenched his left hand into a fist that had blood dripping out from underneath it, leaving a trail of blood drops on the floor.

' _How did I let Ser-Ket talk me into this?_ ' he thought while trying to keep his mind off how sore his hand felt since the Femme had sliced his palm.

" _You will have to lay a trail of blood around the pallets the Stalkers will follow, like bread crumbs._ " the Femme had told him. Quickstrike was now around the middle of the large area of pallets, so much that he could no longer see the shuttle or the hangar's entrance.

But he could hear the stalkers who had entered the area he was in, so the bot kept as quiet as he could and hoped that the modified Terracons would not sniff him out right away. As Ser-Ket had said, they should smell the puddle of blood he had left them at the start of the trail first.

The Bot stayed very still and was leaning right back against the pallet as he heard one of the Stalkers start to sniff the air, earning similar actions from the others. So Quickstrike peeked around the corner of the pallet and saw what must have been the Alpha, who grunted at the others to follow before moving off in the direction of the puddle, the others then followed. The Autobot then sighed, but this caught he attention of the last Stalker who looked in his direction.

Its face looked almost human, just like the other Terracons and Rip-Claw had looked when they had changed in front of him. Those this one looked less intelligent and its entire mouth area was covered in drool, with it hanging off his chin and dripping onto the floor. As it growled and sniffed the air, the Autobot's spark felt like it was going to jump right out of his chest, it was beating that fast.

' _Please don't detect me, I don't want to fight them all now._ ' he thought when suddenly the Alpha could be heard growling which gained the attention of the last Stalker, who then quickly ran off in that direction. Quickstrike simply breathed a sigh of relief before resuming his own task, as he squeezed his hand and allowed blood to drip on the floor and continue the trail.

After moving around several more pallets, the bot could hear that the Stalkers were now on the trail and moving slowly toward him. He then found himself in the area that Ser-Ket had pointed out on her holo-map, which was right against the west wall. He squeezed out another small puddle of blood, his hand was now starting to feel numb after the amount of blood he had deposited in the last few minutes.

' _Any more and I will need a blood transfusion._ ' he thought as he wrapped a bandage around his hand then took cover behind a pallet on the puddle's right hand side, which contained a number of large metal boxes, which should make good cover or so he was told by the Femme. Then suddenly the Stalkers appeared on the scene with the Alpha at the front, sniffing the trail of blood that had been laid out for them. Quickstrike peeked out from behind the pallet and saw the pack the stop next to the puddle as the Alpha began sniffing it.

' _It's now or never._ ' the bot thought as he pulled a device off his utility belt, the same device that Ser-Ket had in her hands when she had the idea. He looked down at the plasma grenade in his hands.

' _This should only kill the Stalkers, not bring down the hanger around us._ ' Quickstrike thought or rather hoped as he then pulled the pin and armed the explosive, which was shown by a green light pulsing at the top of the device. He then threw the grenade over the pallet, with it hitting the ground next to the Stalkers. who looked at it as it rolled in between of their pack, the Alpha started to sniff at it as it's green light pulsed even quicker.

Seeing this made the Alpha's eyes widen as it finally dawned on it what this thing was, but it was top late as the grenade exploded and engulfed the pack in plasma-fire. The small shockwave emitted from the explosion shook the pallet that Quickstrike had used for cover, nearly deafening him due to his rather close, but not to close proximity.

After waiting a moment, Quickstrike then got up and walked around the pallet to see the burned and charred remains of the Stalkers lying around the area.

' _They really are stupid._ ' he thought before his eyes widened as he counted the bodies.

' _One, two, three, four. There's only four...where's the fifth?_ ' he thought as he felt panic taking a hold, so he spun around and saw nothing but pallets. But then he heard a low growl to his left and looked, but suddenly felt himself falling backwards with the last Stalker on top as it tackled him to the ground. Quickstrike was pinned under the beastial man as it drooled and bared its sharp teeth, he could feel and smell its hot breath on his face and it was enough to make him feel sick.

' _Can you say halitosis._ ' he thought as the beast drooled on him as he fought to free himself, the Stalker had what felt like an iron grip on his forearms.

' _Can't break free._ ' he thought as the Con opened its mouth and readied itself to maul the bot, who could only try and free himself again. But suddenly three gun shots echoed through the hanger and the Stalker yelped in response before falling onto the ground beside the Autobot, who breathed heavily as he looked up to see Ser-Ket standing over him.

"Sorry about that." she said as she held out a hand which Quickstrike took, getting to his feet with the Femme's help.

"What happened? I thought you had my back?" he asked, earning a shameful expression from the Predacon.

"I am sorry Quickstrike, I know I promised that. but I got jumped by those Terracons and had to deal with them first."  
Ser-Ket then pointed at one of their bodies that lay just behind a pallet just aways from them.

"And you killed them all...impressive." the bot replied, earning a smile from the Femme.

"Well, you did get most of the Stalkers. I haven't seen an Autobot hold up to one yet." she said back as the Bot looked down at the dead beast-man at his feet.

"Only because I followed your plan, I think that the results might have been very different if I had tried something else." he replied.

"Well, I don't know how long it will be until the Predacons send more after us. So you get the shuttle ready." Ser-Ket said as she gestured towards the shuttle

"What about you?" the Autobot asked with a curious tone.

"I am going to hack one of the Terracon's holo-tools and see if I can gain a piggyback into the Predacon system, so we can keep an eye on what they are up to."

"Okay, I'll get the shuttle's pre-ignition started then." Quickstrike replied before heading for the shuttle and activating his holo-tool, earning the hum of the vehicle's engines as they fired up. Meanwhile the Femme walked over to one of the dead Terracons and started up her own holo-tool, bringing up a holo-screen which showed connection data. In less than a few seconds, the dead Con's holo-tool powered up around the body's arm and began communicating with Ser-Ket's which made the Femme smile.

' _Gotcha._ ' she thought as her holo-tool pinged and the Predacon system opened up for her.

' _Right, now time for... What the?_ ' she thought when the sound of something heavy unlocked above her and the roof began to separate like double sliding doors, exposing the hanger's interior to the sky outside. The Femme looked over to see Quickstrike walking over to her, a warm smile on his face.

"Well, the shuttle is ready to go. What about you?"

"Yes I..." Ser-Ket said before it suddenly dawned on her about the tracker in her chest, which changed her expression to one of concern. One that Quickstrike mirrored in return.

"What is it?" he asked, but before the Predacon could respond, a strange and yet familiar sound caught their attention outside.  
"What is that?" the bot said as he looked up at the dusk sky which had become more cloudy, the Femme mirrored him as the sound grew louder.

"Sounds like...wings...flapping!" she said, her eyes widening as she realised what it was.

"No!" she said aloud before the giant blue and white form of Skystalker burst through the clouds and landed ontop of the hangar, spreading out its large wings and roaring, letting its presence be known to the entire area.

"Skystalker, what do we..." Quickstrike said back before being cut off by the Femme.

"Hide!" she shouted as she grabbed him by the arm, the pair ran out of view and behind one of the larger pallets, just as the metallic dragon finished it's roar and looked down into the open building.

"So, what can we do?" Quickstrike whispered as they hid, making the Femme shake her head in return.

"Nothing, none of the rifles or firearms we have will put a dent in Skystalker's armour, let alone kill it."

"Right, well..." the bot began to reply before he heard the Predacon dragon give off a low growl and peeked past the pallet, and noticed that Skystalker had spotted the shuttle that was now fully primed to launch.

"No, no, no, no!" Quickstrike whispered as the beast stared at the shuttle for what felt like a long moment, before then opening it's mouth. Which then caused a white glow to appear at the bottom of it's throat, which then traveled up its neck and into it's mouth. Then it suddenly shot out in a white energy beam which hit the shuttle and froze it in ice where it stood.

Quickstrike's eyes widened as he felt his anger boiling up in his spark.

"That's our ride!" he spat as he looked to see the shuttle, now rendered completely useless by Skystalker.

"We can't do anything about that now..." Ser-Ket said back as she grabbed his shoulder.

"But we can..." the Femme added while looking directly into the angry Autobot's eyes, but suddenly stopped as they both simultaneously felt the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end. So both looked up to see Skystalker looking down on them and growling.

"Run!" the Femme screamed as they both ditched their no longer hidden hiding spot and ran further into the pallet stacks, as Skystalker roared and started moving around the open roof of the hanger, trying to re-acquire his targets.

Ser-Ket just kept running down what felt like endless corridors of this maze of pallet stacks, which were high enough that Skystalker would have to be directly above them to notice.

' _Quickstrike?_ ' she suddenly thought as she stopped and realised that the bot was no longer at her side.

'Damn it, must have accidently seperated as we ran from Skystalker.' she thought as she looked down both sides of the aisle she was in, but saw no sign of the Bot.

Meanwhile Quickstrike found himself in exactly the same predicament as he looked around for the Femme while trying to remain as quiet as possible, since he could hear the beast moving around above them.

"Ser-Ket, Ser-Ket." he whispered, mentally kicking himself for not watching where she was when they ran.

' _If anything happens to her after all she's done for me, I'll never forgive myself._ ' he thought as he kept his eyes peeled for signs of the Femme. But then Skystalker roared again, making a lump appear in Quickstrike's throat as he knew there was only one reason for such a thing...the beast had found her.

Ser-Ket had nowhere to go as she found herself backed up against the wall as the massive blue and white Predacon-dragon had dropped into the hanger, blocking her off from the stacks of pallets that had at least offered some cover. The Femme's spark beat had picked up rapidly as she stared at Skystalker, who's optics remained focused purely on her. Every time she tried to move, they moved with her.

' _It must be locked on the tracker inside of me._ ' the Femme thought while searching around for something to use, but all she could see was the pallets and the now frozen shuttle which was next to what looked like some large cylinder-like objects connected to the wall to it's right.

' _Looks like this is it._ ' she thought as the Dragon opened its mouth and began charging its ice-breath, as white light began glowing brighter inside the beast's exposed throat.

' _At least I can die knowing that I did the right thing in helping Quickstrike, and I was starting to really like him too._ '

But just as Skystalker was about to unleash its attack and freeze the Femme to the spot she was standing in, the Dragon suddenly arced its head up and roared in pain which dumbfounded Ser-Ket as she watched with a confused expression.

Her eyes then widened in surprise as she saw Quickstrike standing on the beast's back, keeping his balance by holding onto it with one of his holo-blades stuck inside it's metal hide as the Predacon began to try and shake him off frantically. Ser-Ket could not help but show a slight smile, watching the Bot repeatedly stab the Beast with his other holo-blade.

"What are you waiting for...Run!" he shouted, as he noticed the Femme just staring at him. This brought Ser-Ket to her senses and she ran as the dragon kept moving in a circle away from her, shaking itself continuously in a further attempt to rid itself of the Autobot.

' _He is fighting Skystalker...for me._ ' she thought with a great deal of admiration for the display transpiring before her as the Femme stopped back at the pallet and stacks and watched.

Skystalker became more enraged with every second that Quickstrike remained on its back, hacking and stabbing away at it's back. The bot though remained focused on injuring the Predacon-dragon as much as he could as he stabbed down yet again into the Beast's back, this time making some greeny/blueish energon spill out of it. This made him smile as he saw the liquid leaking out.

' _So you can be hurt, thats good to know. Means you can be killed._ ' he thought before his attention suddenly turned to his holo-blade that he was using to anchor himself to Skystalker, noticing that it was slowly coming loose.

' _Uh oh._ '

Suddenly the dragon swung itself around with so much force that it dislodged Quickstrike, sending him flying off its back.

"Quickstrike!" Ser-Ket screamed as she watched helplessly as the bot slammed back-first into the frozen hull of the shuttle, before dropping hard to the floor.

Quickstrike was feeling dazed and winded as he looked up from the floor to see the dragon look over it's shoulder at him, it then lifted it's tail up in the air and held it over the Bot and the shuttle.

"Quickstrike move!" the Femme shouted, thus making the Autobot roll out of the way just as the sharp end of its tail came slamming down onto the ground where he once was. The bot then breathed heavily as he ended up on his knees and looked up to see Skystalker's tail was trapped inside the engine section of the shuttle, having broke through the ice and become stuck.

The dragon had noticed this too as it looked back and tried to shake it's tail free, but had no luck as the shuttle's fuel began flowig out of the damaged section. Which brought an idea to the Autobot's mind as he looked over to the Femme.

"Ser-Ket!" he called, and noticed that she was on the same wavelength as in her hand was a plasma grenade. Ser-Ket smiled and pulled the device's pin before throwing the pulsing grenade into the puddle of fuel that was expanding next to the shuttle, all the while Skystalker was still trying to free itself and so did not notice that Quickstrike and the Femme had begun running away. Then suddenly the grenade exploded, taking the shuttle with it.

The force of the blast knocked the Beast onto its knees, earning a yelp-like cry from it before it spread its wings and launched itself back onto the hanger's roof. It then looked back at it's damaged tail, its optics then narrowed as it then looked back into the open hangar.

"I think we pissed it off." Quickstrike said as both he and Ser-Ket hid behind another pallet but when he didn't get a reply from the Femme, he looked back to see a worried expression on her face.

"What is it?"

"Look.." she replied as she pointed over to the wreckage of the shuttle, gaining the Bot's attention as his eyes widened at the sight of the large cylinders and the plasma damage they had gained from the explosion.

"Shit, those fuel cells...run!" he exclaimed before grabbing the Femme's hand as the two began to run for the hanger exit while Skystalker looked back at them and roared, making Ser-Ket look back over her shoulder just in time to see the fuel cells begin to explode.

"Quickstrike down!" she shouted back while tackling the Bot to the ground, just as her eyes began to change. Suddenly the fuel cells exploded, engulfing the hangar in flames as the shock-wave sent Skystalker falling off the roof. The Dragon landed on the Terracon shuttle that was parked nearby and crushed it instantly.

The Beast immediately rolled back onto it's four legs and looked back at the hangar, or rather what remained of it as it was now completely on fire and billowed with smoke. Skystalker sniffed the air and scanned the destroyed building with it's optics for a long moment before spreading out its wings, and launching itself back into the sky as rain began to fall from the dark clouds in the night sky. The Predacon-dragon circled the area once before flying off into the distance, apparently satisfied with the conclusion.

But as the beast slowly came to be a bleep on the horizon, some of the rubble in among the fires began to move before a large piece of metal scaffolding was suddenly flung onto its side, revealing Quickstrike who was covered in soot and bruises. The Bot looked around at the collapsed building around him with a look of utter confusion, as he had no idea how he had survived it.

"Okay, how did I just…" he began to say before he heard heavy breathing behind him, so turned around and the sight that met him made his eyes widen. For standing before him was Ser-Ket in her beast mode, standing at just taller than the Bot with more prominent muscles and sharp claws instead of nails on her hands. Her teeth were extremely sharp and prominent, but it was the eyes that really caught his attention as they looked so beastial and alien compared to the compassionate Femme he had come to know in such a short time.

"Ser-Ket? You alright?" he asked in an unsure kind of way, but the Femme just looked past him and towards Skystalker who was just a dot in the distance now.

' _She saved me back there, shielded me from the fire.'_  he thought while looking back at what could only be described as a monster, yet he could still see the Woman behind the beast.

"We better get out of this rain?" the Bot then said, earning a grunt from Ser-Ket who then proceeded to dislodge and clear more of the rubble out of the pair's way, with the Autobot following close behind as they headed over to one of the adjacent buildings nearby.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Both Ser-Ket and Quickstrike left the now smoldering ruins of the hangar behind them as the rain started coming down fast and hard, dousing the fire and removing the only light source that remained in the area. The pair entered the building as Ser-Ket who was still in her beast-mode sniffed the air, earning a curious look from the bot who activated his torch and illuminated the building's they interior.

"Is it safe, there can't be any other Terracons around still surely? Because I doubt any of them would believe that we survived that explosion." Quickstrike said, earning a grunt from the Predacon as she nodded in return. The pair were standing in what looked like a hallway and it had the same look as the hanger, so no one had been there in a while.

"Come on, lets find somewhere to rest." the Autobot said as he led the way with Ser-Ket behind him, walking through the hallway and into a large room with windows that were at last seven feet off the ground. Quicktrike looked up and saw the rain water running down the glass of the windows as the storm continued to batter the area before returning his attention to the rest of the room. What he saw reminded him of a barracks, as there were several beds all lined up in formation and each had it's own cupboard and night table.

"This should do for now." the Bot replied as he shone his torch back at Ser-Ket and noticed blood on the abdominal side of the Femme's torso armour.

"Wait a second?" he said curiously, making the Predacon look at him in a confused way as the Bot stepped toward her to get a closer look. She growled lowly at him as he reached his free hand at the blood stained armour, making him pull his hand back.

"It's okay, but you should let me take a look…..I won't hurt you." he said in a caring tone as he looked into her eyes, making the Femme sigh in return. Quickstrike then reached out with his hand and touched the armour as he noticed something sticking out of the piece that was stained, gaining a grimace from Ser-Ket as he touched it.

"Sorry, but I need get this piece of armour off." he said earning an annoyed stare from the raven haired woman, who then nodded in return. So the Bot placed his torch on the night table and activated its lamp mode, which made the light shine around the room in a gentle fashion as he returned his attention to the injured Femme.

Ser-Ket watched quietly as the Bot took off the armour piece and set it aside, his eyes widening as he saw a largish piece of metal sticking out of her abdomen with blood leaking out of the wound around it.

"Damn it, that's one nasty wound you've got." he explained to the Predacon who just tilted her head and looked at him with a confused expression, one that baffled the Bot.

' _How much pain can these Predacons take in this berserker mode they have?_ ' he thought as he activated his holo-tool and scanned the wound.

"Well, good news is that the metal hasn't damaged any of your internal organs and systems. So your Pretender body will heal, but I have to pull that thing out first." he said as he looked at the data on his holo-tool and then at the Femme, who now looked at him blankly like she did not understand.

' _Does going into this berserker….beast mode, cause them to become stupider or something?_ '

Quickstrike then took a hold of the metal, earning another grimace from Ser-Ket.

"Sorry, I am going to pull it out on the count of three…." he said as they both looked into each other's eyes, and though the Femme's looked more like a Beast and less like the Woman he had gotten to know over the last couple of days, Quickstrike had to believe that she was still in there at this moment.

"..and this is going to hurt, so please don't kill me for it?" he added as he grasped the metal tightly with one hand while placing his other on the Femme's arm.

' _How did that story go….the one with the mouse and the lion?…..here goes._ ' he thought.

"Three, two, one…." he then said before quickly pulling out the metal in one go, making the blood spill out of the open wound and treacle down the Femme's body. But the Predacon roared in pain as she hit out at the Bot with her claws, which narrowly scratched his chest as he jumped back.

But Ser-Ket was now enraged and roared again, which echoed through the building's rooms as she then turned her attention to the wall and punched and ran her claws down it, leaving dents and inch deep claw marks on it's surface. Quickstrike watched in silent horror at the damage the Femme was doing in her beastial rage before she suddenly went quiet and stopped in mid-attack, looking over her shoulder at the bot and spotting the scratches on his chest. This made her eyes widen in shock as she all of sudden recoiled, while her facial expression became one of pure shame and sadness at what she nearly did.

"No Ser-Ket, its just a scratch." Quickstrike said back instantly as he saw the Femme get down onto her knees and hold onto the side of the bed, while looking anywhere other than at the Bot standing in front of her.

The Autobot sighed as he then took some medi-gel from his utility belt and knelt beside the Femme, who then turned her back on him and slowly began to sob.

"Ser-Ket please, I need to close and this wound so it can heal. I can't do that if you don't let me." he pleaded as the Predacon kept her back to him, so he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Ser-Ket, let me help you….please."

For a long moment there was nothing but the sound of the rain outside as silence stood between the pair, then the Femme sighed before turning round and sitting with her back to the bed, allowing Quickstrike access to her wound though she still looked away. The Bot merely nodded and sighed before taking the medi-gel and spraying it onto the wound, which then slowly closed and healed itself.

"There we are, that's healing nicely." he said with relief in his voice, yet Ser-Ket would not acknowledge him as she kept her attention away from him. So Quickstrike sat down beside her and listened to the rain that was continuing to fall outside without pause.

But then he felt something on his left shoulder and heard a sobbing-like sound and looked over to see Ser-Ket resting her head on his shoulder and crying quietly, with tears running down her cheeks. So the Quickstrike lifted his arm and allowed the femme to rest her head on his chest as he rested his arm around her and instinctively held her close.

"It's alright." he whispered as Ser-Ket rested against his chest and listened to his breathing and the beating of his spark, thus calming her down and changing her back to normal as they both just sat there in comfortable silence and listened to the rain.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Quickstrike opened his eyes to find himself still sitting against the bed in the barracks with Ser-Ket in his arms, it was still dark and the storm was still raging outside so he had not been asleep for very long, but he did not know how he fell asleep to begin with. But he looked down at the Femme and saw that her holo-tool was active, and that she was typing into it while looking at a small holo-screen being emitted by it. But unknown to the Autobot, while her holo-tool was indeed active, Ser-Ket was actually looking at her chest for she had noticed that the tracker was no longer sending out a signal as it's light was not blinking on and off.

' _It must have been damaged during the hanger explosion. That's a lucky break._ ' she thought before closing her chest plate and returning her attention to her holo-screen.

"You alright?" Quickstrike asked, earning an almost shocked reaction from Ser-Ket as she looked back at him with a slight smile in return.

"Yes I am, thanks to you." she replied with an appreciative tone as they eyes met.

"I didn't wake you did I, because you looked as if you were having a restful sleep." she added, earning a similar smile from the Bot.

"Yes, I don't remember falling asleep but I guess it is the second best sleep I have had in the last few days." he replied before his expression changed to a more concerned look.

"I didn't snore did I?" he asked, earning a small laugh from the Femme at his innocent and shy question.

"No, you didn't snore. You were very quiet actually."

' _But you were very cute while asleep._ ' she then thought as they looked at each other for a moment.

"And I noticed you are still lying against me." the Bot observed, making Ser-Ket's cheeks redden slightly.

"Well I was comfortable." she replied coyly, earning a similar reaction from Quickstrike who then diverted his attention to the screen on Ser-Ket's holo-tool.

"Yes well…what are you looking at?" he asked in a not so vague attempt to change the subject, which made the Femme smile back knowingly.

"I am just skimming through my former comrades database, and it would seem that they now believe we are dead and have called off their search."

"Well that is good news, so we have some well earned breathing room for the time being." the Autobot replied as the Femme sat up and turned around to face him properly.

"Yes and…thank you."

"What for?" Quickstrike replied, gaining another coy look from the Predacon.

"For saving me from Skystalker, for fighting him with nothing more than your melee weapons. It was incredibly brave."

"Or incredibly stupid." the Bot said back with a hint of shyness at the way she was looking at him, but Ser-Ket shook her head slightly in return before meeting his eyes with hers again.

"No, it was very brave. And I am forever grateful for what you did."

"Well I did nothing that you haven't already done for me." Quickstrike said back, earning a curious look from Ser-Ket, this beautiful Femme who was sitting directly in front of him. This Predacon who really should have been his enemy, yet instead became a friend that he came to care a great deal about.

"…how could I not do the same for you, after everything you did to save me. I can't imagine how hard it was for you to turn your back on your people, knowing what the risks would be to help an enemy escape."

"Well, if I am entirely truthful. I never really felt like one of them and having seen what they were putting you through, and how you were continuing to stand up to them. I did not want to see that spark you have be crushed by my sister and the others, for you may be their enemy…..but you are not my enemy." Ser-Ket said back before her eyes fell upon the scratches on the Bot's chest, which made her expression lessen. And this did not go unnoticed by Quickstrike.

"But I guess there is still a part of me that is like my former brethren, a part of me that I can not control."

"Like I said before, it is just a scratch." the Autobot replied, trying to diffuse the tension that was growing in the Femme's voice.

"I could have really hurt you or worse, and that would have made all my efforts to save you mean nothing." she said back, making Quickstrike lean in closer to her and take her hands in his.

"But you didn't, and even though you had changed. I could see in your eyes that you were still in there, you wouldn't have been able to save us from the hanger being destroyed otherwise."

Ser-Ket looked down at her hands in his own as she thought on his words, but then the Autobot released one hand and placed it on her chin and brought her face back up to his, their eyes meeting again.

"You have saved me twice in as many days Ser-Ket, I do not if I will ever be able to fully thank you for that…..but I want to try." he replied with a smile, earning a confused expression from the Femme.

"Try?" she said back before the Bot leaned in close to her, so close she could feel his breath on her skin until he gently pressed his lips to her own. This surprised the Femme as her eyes widened in response while her spark missed a beat, and she felt a very warm feeling course through her being. Then Quickstrike pulled away just enough to look her in the eyes, and she saw nothing but affection in his as he smiled back.

"Thank you Ser-Ket." he said back before they just looked at each other for what felt like a long moment, earning a deep breath from the Femme. But then she suddenly grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him into a passionate kiss, pressing their lips together with such strength that in any other way, might of snapped someone's neck. But Quickstrike let himself go and gave as good as he was receiving as he kissed her back with as much feeling, their lips sealed together. He also put his arms around her back and pulled her up close so their bodies touched which made the Femme open her mouth and gasp, thus allowing the Bot to force his tongue in and begin wrestling with her own.

Ser-Ket though was a quick study, returning the act in kind as her tongue entered his mouth. And the pair kissed for a long moment, before finally separating long enough to take a well needed breath as looked into each others eyes.

"Do that again." the Femme said with a coy smile and similar tone in her voice that gave the Bot a feeling of butterflies in his stomach, making him blush in return.

"Yeah?" he asked back in a slightly unbelieving tone, which made Ser-Ket smile more.

"Yes." she replied and with out any further a due, Quickstrike leaned in again and they kissed once more, exploring each the insides of each others mouths with their tongues. As the pair kissed, the Autobot wrapped one arm around her back while his other hand was placed on the back her head with his fingers brushing through her raven colored hair. The Predacon returned the favor by wrapping both her arms around his back and pulling him closer and tighter as he had done earlier, strengthening the kiss as their faces became fused together in the passion of the moment.

Once the need for air reared itself again, Ser-Ket looked down at the Bot's shirt with a devilish smile on her beautiful face, and then surprised him by grabbing the top he was wearing and ripping a tear in it with her finger nails. Quickstrike smiled back as he started to grab at the Femme's armour, pulling the pieces off as fast as he could. The pair quickly made short work each others clothing before the Predacon stopped as her eyes caught sight of the scars covering the Autobot's body, stark reminders of the hell he had been put through by her Sister.

"Its alright, they don't hurt anymore." he answered softly before the Femme then bent down and kissed one of the scratches that ran across his chest, which gave the Bot a tingling sensation as he felt her lips on his skin. Ser-ket then left a trail of kisses over his chest and up his neck until she locked lips with him again, moaning into the kiss as the bot took one of her breasts in his hand and gently squeezed.

Quickstrike then got up back to his feet, followed quickly by the Ser-Ket as they then stood completely naked in front of each other. The Bot then wrapped his arms around the Femme, lifting her off the ground and pressing her back up against the cupboard. Ser-Ket quickly wrapped her legs around his waist as the two kissed passionately again, making sure to stay there in his grip.

The Bot then turned his attention again to her breasts as she then reached up and grabbed the top of the cupboard with her hands to steady them both some more, allowing him to use his hands as he kept her pinned to the cupboard. He moved one hand down between her legs while he licked and sucked on her nipples, earning a moan from Ser-Ket as she physically shivered in response to the pleasure he was giving her. It was something she did not want to experience alone so she freed one of her hands and moved down between his legs, taking hold of his member and began pleasuring the Bot as he kept his attention on her.

Quickstrike moaned in return as her strokes sped up and made him hard and erect, so he stopped and once again wrapped his arms around her. The Predacon understood what he wanted to do, for she wanted it as well so did the same and placed her hands on either side of his back.

The Bot then lifted her onto him and she moaned again while feeling him enter her slowly, wrapping her legs tightly around him as he began to thrust into her slowly. The feeling was phenomenal for Ser-Ket as it was something she had not experienced before, as each and every thrust from Quickstrike brought about more levels of pleasure, making her dig her nails into his flesh and drag them down his back. And if this had hurt the Autobot, he did not show it as he simply increased the speed of this thrusts, making them both moan in unison as he held her up against the cupboard which started to shake with every thrust.

After several minutes of this, they were both panting as they continued their love-making. But Quickstrike could feel his legs starting to give way so he pulled the Femme from the cupboard and sat himself down on the bed with her on his lap, earning a mischievous smile from Ser-Ket who then placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back, forcing him to lie down as she took control.

She the began rising and falling on his member, which was pulsing with so much pleasure that it made his eyes roll back as he moaned out loud. Ser-Ket then arched her back and quickened the pace, bringing them both closer to climax as they lost themselves in each other.

And as the storm continued to batter the barracks exterior, it could not deafen out their cries of pleasure as they continued through the night.

 


	21. Chapter 21

Twelve hours earlier...

 

It was very quiet inside the Captain's quarters as Galvatron sat at his desk, staring at the Covenant of Primus that lay in front of him. It had been an hour since he gave the order for his fleet to prepare for the attack against Omega, and he was starting to get impatient. He thought waiting in his room would be a good idea, since he would have time to examine the relic of the Primes. But instead he had just passed the time by staring at the book, having suddenly felt indecisive about it.

' _Why did I pick this up? I mean I did so for a reason and have meant to look at it in more detail, but yet here I am staring at it. What is wrong with me, why don't I just open it?_ ' he thought as he shook his head.

" _A more important question is why in the pit do you think so much?_ " a familiar voice replied, making the Predacon's eyes narrow as he gritted his teeth in response.

"Get out!" he spat without even bothering to look as Megatron stood against the wall and looked down at him with a disgusted expression.

" _Well since you asked so nicely, I think I will...not._ " he chuckled, earning a groan from Galvatron which made his grin grow a little wider.

"Why can't you just leave me alone? Even for a moment?" the Predacon Leader said in an almost pleading like tone, making the Decepticon kneel beside him.

" _Why do we keep going round in circles like this? You know why I will not leave you alone, there is no need for me to repeat it._ "

He then reached out and grabbed Galvatron's hand, which was near the relic's cover and moved it away.

" _Forget about this over decorated paper-weight and just accept the truth._ " he added as he dropped the Con's hand into his lap, not even receiving a reaction from his Clone, who simply kept his eyes on the relic. But Megatron just knelt there and stared at Galvatron as he waited for a response, before finally rolling his eyes and sighing as he got back to his feet.

" _So this is your plan, simply try to ignore me completely? Well let me show you how well that will work._ " he said before slamming his fist into the Predacon's head, knocking him off his chair and onto the floor, before standing over Galvatron who got on to his hands and knees.

" _You cannot simply close your eyes and wish me away clone, nor can you treat me like I am not even here. Because every time that you do, this will happen. I do not even care if anyone sees this...but I know you do_." he spat at him with clenched fists at the ready, as the Predacon looked up with pure hate in his eyes at his hallucination while a little blood ran down his chin from the edge of his mouth. But still he said nothing, which made Megatron even angrier as he punched his Clone again.

" _You don't want to learn...fine, but that doesn't mean I can't beat it into you._ " he raged while grabbing Galvatron by the hair on his head and raising his other fist, readying it to strike. But suddenly the room's inter-com activated and Six-Shot's voice echoed in the room.

"Lord Gavlatron, your presence is requested in the CIC."

For a long moment there was no answer as both stared daggers at each other.

"My lord?" his lieutenant said again with a confused tone to his voice. But Megatron instead chose to ignore it and threw another punch at his Clone's face, only for Galvatron to block it this time with his arm. The Decepticon Leader's optics widened in surprise as the Predacon then pushed him away, looking at him with a stare that could melt through anything as his spark burned with silent rage.

"Lord Galvatron." Six-Shot asked again over the inter-com.

"I am on my way Six-Shot, Galvatron out." he replied before walking past the suddenly quiet hallucination as he left the room, being sure to pick up a cloth on his way out.

And it wasn't until the Predacon was walking down the corridor towards the elevator and wiping the blood from his face while doing so, that it dawned on him what had just happened.

' _How did I stop Megatron from hitting me? How was I able to touch him?'_  he thought as he stopped and stood there in the middle of the corridor, completely confused by what had transpired. And it was then at that moment Galvatron heard a voice echoing faintly through the corridor, just as his spark began to burn up which made him clutch his chest.

"Galvatron!"

The Predacon recognised the voice as the one he had heard in his dream, but at this moment he was awake. He looked around as the voice echoed around him, while holding his hand to his chest due due to the pain that his spark was putting him through.

"Galvatron!"

Suddenly the Clone felt a hand touch his shoulder as everything went quiet, and the pain instantly stopped.

"Galvatron?" another voice spoke, making Galvatron spin round with his fists ready. But he found that he was face to face with a confused looking Darksteel.

"Lord Galvatron?" he asked with a puzzled tone.

"What is it Darksteel?"

"Are you alright Sir?" the Con asked with an honest and subservient expression.

"I am fine, please return to your duties." Galvatron replied as he tried to sound in control, earning an unsure look from the other Predacon. But then Darksteel nodded without question and carried on past him down the corridor.

' _What in the pit just happened to me?_ ' Galvatron thought as he walked over to the elevator, pressing the call button on it's control panel and waiting for it to arrive. But when he could think of no answer to the question, he turned his thoughts to another problem.

' _I have to be more careful, luckily Darksteel is young and naive and also fears me. So I don't expect any trouble from him about what he just witnessed. But if that had been someone like Six-Shot, I would have had to take steps to make sure that he does not speak...wait, what am I thinking!_ ' the Predacon Leader thought as he found these dark thoughts of killing his own men troubling.

" _Now your starting to think like me._ " Megatron suddenly said as he appeared behind the Clone, earning a groan from Galvatron.

" _I wouldn't get used to the idea of fighting back, because it won't end well for you_." the hallucination warned with a cold tone, but luckily for Galvatron the elevator arrive and opened for him. So he ignored the Decepticon Leader and entered it, the doors closing behind him and shutting the ghost out.

' _This madness has to stop._ ' he thought as he stood there in the elevator, which took him to the CIC.

As Galvatron walked into the Nemesis's CIC, he saw that it was a buzz with activity as all the stations were manned by Terracons and a number of his Lieutenants were standing at the command station that overlooked the entire room. Standing there was Lazerback, Blight, Vertebreak and they were watching Six-shot, who was typing commands into the station's holo-interface. The Con then heard footsteps approaching them and turned to see their leader.

"Lord Galvatron, I thought you would like to know that the fleet is fully prepared and waiting for your orders at the space-bridge."

The Predacon Lord looked at the holo-screen and saw the IFFs of each of their ships, and was thankful that something had come up which could take his mind off what had happened earlier, at least for a while. So he walked past his men and joined Six-Shot at the console and typed into it's holo-interface, activating communications.

"All ships, this is Lord Galvatron. Enter the space-bridge for Omega, your targets are the Cruisers which stand guard on Omega's side of the space-bridge. Once you draw the remainder of their forces away from the station, the Nemesis will jump in close and disable its defences while also deploying troops aboard Omega via our space-bridge. Once we conquer Omega and control its resources, we Predacons will be invincible and the Autobos will fall at our feet." he said as he looked out of the CIC's canopy, viewing the inactive space-bridge and the Predacon fleet that was positioned in front of it.

"Let's begin." he added with a finality to his voice before deactivating the transmission, and looking over to the Terracon manning the helm.

"Power up our space-bridge generator and set battle stations throughout the ship." the Predacon leader ordered, earning a fearful nod from the minion who then typed on the holo-interface of his console as the lighting dimmed a little more and the battle alert siren blared through the inter-com throughout the ship. Galvatron and his lieutenants then watched as the green vortex of the space-bridge came to life and expanded, before the fleet then flew into it, leaving the Nemesis alone while it waited for it's turn.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Five minutes earlier...

It had been a slow week for the crew of the mercenary cruiser 'Vindicator', which had been on patrol duty around the Omega system. And as the Batarian captain sat in his chair and observed his crew working around him on the bridge, he could not help but wish for some a action. For since Aria T'Loak had gained command of every Merc organisation in the Terminus systems, courtesy of the Autobots and Jackson Prime some twenty five years earlier, there had not been as many battles or raids as there used to be.

The Asari had turned the once lawless region of the galaxy - a place where even the now defunct Citadel Council would not dare go...without the entire fleet of course - into a law-abiding Empire with only one law that mattered...'Don't fuck with Aria!'  
She had the entire Terminus systems at her bidding, which should have brought a lot of fear to those that called the area home.

But it would appear that having her lover Nyreen Kandros with her had diluted Aria's cold and merciless nature somewhat, which showed with how the Asari treated the very civilians who lived on Omega, allowing them certain freedoms and liberties that the past Aria would not have even wasted a thought on. The biggest trouble even bothering Omega now, was the border skirmishes with the Autobots. Which were generally orchestrated by Aria as a means of reminding the Federation that Omega was still there.

Of course she wasn't going to declare war on the ones that been responsible for her current standing, but she did like to mess with Jackson Prime. It was something that Prime was only to aware of, and no one had ever been killed in the said skirmishes.  
And so this was how things were now in the Terminus systems or what it was now known as the 'Omega Syndicate', a grittier and darker but still no less stable version of what had been created in the Federation.

"Captain!" a voice called out, snapping the Batarian out from his thoughts as he looked in the direction of the voice to see a Vorcha looking back from his station.

"Report." the Batarian replied.

"Sir, our sensors are picking up a power increase in the space-bridge, I think it is about to activate."

The Captain looked over to communications station, manned by another Vorcha, who was monitoring all the channels.

"Do we have any ships scheduled to arrive at this time?" he asked, earning a focused expression from the crewman who looked at his holo-interface as he used it to go through their records.

"Negative sir, we have no one due to arrive today...or for the rest of the week."

"Alright, alert all ships to go to battle-stations. And bring our weapons online. I want us all ready for whatever comes through." the Batarian said, the coms officer then nodded in return before speaking into his com-link, relaying his orders to the rest of the fleet.

"Sir, weapons and shields are online. And all decks report combat ready." a Human officer responded when suddenly the space-bridge activated and a giant vortex appeared and expanded before the fleet, illuminating them all in green light.

"Unscheduled space-bridge activation." the Asari manning the sensors reported as everyone watched the swirling portal a head of them.

"Stand by, only fire if fired upon." the Batarain replied through his com-link to the other ship Captains. But then suddenly a ship appeared as it exited the vortex's event horizon and entered the system, and then followed by another and another.

"Sir, the ships are registering as Autobot." the sensors officer reported, earning a confused look from the Captain.

"But the Autobots have never tried anything like this." he replied as more and more ships exited the vortex.

"Have any of the ships locked weapons?" he then asked, making the officer fumble around with his holo-interface as the irregularity of the situation effected him.

"No sir, there has been no...oh no!" he the said, eyes widening as he looked at the screen.

"What, what is it!" the Batarian replied with panic evident in his voice.

"I am picking up a power spike in their..." he started to say before the incoming cruisers all opened fire, filling the void with torpedoes and energy blasts that ripped through the Omega fleet. Causing untold damage to several ships while draining the shields of the rest.

"All ships return fire, I repeat fire at will!" the Captain shouted into his com-link as even more enemy ships exited the space-bridge and opened fire. Almost instantly, the Omega cruisers returned the weapons fire in kind but all that came of it was a blue hue glowing around all the ships as their torpedoes and cannon fire impacted harmlessly against the enemies shields.

The bridge of the Vindicator was rocked by several direct hits from the three cruisers directly ahead as the Captain turned to the Com officer.

"Get me a link with Omega right now?" he shouted as three stations exploded, sending the crew manning them flying off their chairs and onto the ground.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

A moment or two earlier

All was quiet in Aria's quarters as the Asari lay on her king sized bed with only a single silk sheet covering her and Nyreen's naked bodies as they lied together in each others arms. The only sounds that could be heard was the slight hum coming from the Station's life support system, while the other was the soft and faint breathing of her Turian lover who lied her head on the Asari's chest and listened to her heart beat as they both rested.

"Well was that good for you Nyreen?" Aria asked with a coy tone as she looked down at her lover, who simply sighed in return as she lied there happy and content.

"It always has been between us Aria, why do you keep asking when you already know the answer?"

"I like seeing your reaction, it's always so cute." Aria teased so Nyreen moved her hand down between the Asari's legs and brushed her now very sensitive sex. This made the purple woman gasp in pleasure before breathing a little heavier, which earned a chuckle from Nyreen.

"I enjoy your reactions too." she teased back.

"Now that wasn't fair." Aria replied as she too chuckled a little.

"Your the one that brings biotics into the bedroom, you know I cannot one up you there. So I do what I can." the Turian female said back before brushing the Asari's sex again, earning a moan from Aria before she suddenly rolled the pair over so that she was no on top and in control. She smiled down at Nyreen before moving her own hand down to the Turian's sex and doing the same, making her lover shiver and moan in response.

"You know, I can do this too." she said as her lover's eyes rolled back, being unable to resist the pleasurable feelings coursing out from between her legs.  
"I...know, I...want you to." she managed to say between the sweet moans she let out, while Aria continued to play with her sex.

"So what were you...!" The Asari manages to say before she suddenly gasped again, having not realised that Nyreen had slipped her hand down between her legs and was returning the feeling.

"Damn...it." the purple Woman said between the moans as both females pleasured each other for a long moment, their fingers moving faster as they both caressed each others sexes until they cried out in unison before then falling into each others arms while breathing heavily, having been overpowered by the intense feelings that washed over them as they had orgasmed.

"I thought you wanted to sleep?" Nyreen asked between breathes as she curled up next to her panting Asari, who smiled back coyly.  
"I didn't start it though, you did."

"Yes, yes I did...for once. And I think that despite the fact that you love to be in control, that you also enjoy being controlled from time to time." the Turian said back, earning a inquisitive smile from Aria who sat up slightly, resting her hand on her arm while never taking her eyes off Nyreen.

"You know me so well Nyreen. And you are right, I have lived nearly one thousand years and in that time I can count on one hand the number of people that I can say I trust. But there is only one person who I trust implicitly with my body and heart, and I am looking at her."

Nyreen blushed a little as her heart warmed at the Asari's admission, reaching out and cupping her face with a hand.

"I love you too Aria." she replied, earning an appreciative if uncomfortable smile from the Asari. Which made Nyreen think on her lover's words, for Aria had never said the word 'Love' to describe her feelings for the Turian, not once. But Nyreen knew that despite this, the Asari did love her deeply. Perhaps all the centuries of pain and betrayal had made Aria believe that word was false, but with how their relationship had grown over the past twenty five years. Nyreen knew without doubt what she meant to Aria, even if her lover never used the word that explained it best.

The pair then lied there on the bed, just enjoying the silence and slowly allowing sleep to take them. But it was then all shattered by the intruding sound of the inter-com activating.

"Aria, I apologise for the interruption." a voice spoke on the other end, earning an aggravated expression from the Asari as she and Nyreen sat up.

"You better have a good excuse for this Vale, or I will flay you alive." she replied with a poisonous tone, for having her private time with her Turian partner shattered.

"We are under attack...by the Autobots. Their ships are engaging ours at the space-bridge." Vale said back, making Aria activate her holo-tool.

"Patch me into our sensors and show me the battle...now!" she said and before a moment had even passed, a holo-creation of the battle appeared over her holo-tool as red and blue coloured ships fought one another. Nyreen watched quietly as the Asari narrowed her eyes and looked at the readings that appeared over each enemy ship.

"These are not Autobot ships." she then said confidently.

"But Aria, they all have the Autobot insignia printed on their hull." Vale replied in a disbelieving tone.

"But if you looked at their IFF readouts, you would noticed that they are completely different. These ones are...Predacon?"

Nyreen gave a confused look to her lover as the name did not ring a bell with her.

"Never heard of them." Vale responded in return.

"Doesn't matter who they are though, because they have just made the biggest mistake of their short lives. Send in our ships protecting the station and activate our defences. Nyreen and I are heading to the command center." Aria replied before shutting off the inter-com and her holo-tool.

"I should head down to the Talons and begin preparations to protect the civilian population." Nyreen then said as they both got off the bed and started to get changed.

"I knew you were going to suggest that, very well." Aria replied as she buttoned up her top, before they both then walked over to the exit.

"Well you know me just as well as I know you." the Turian said back before giving Aria a kiss.

"Then I will see you the moment this is over then."

"Looking forward to it, very much so." Nyreen said before they both walked out of the room with the door closing behind them.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

The battle at the space-bridge raged on as the vortex closed after the last of the Predacon ships exited the event horizon, firing it's weapons instantly at the Omega vessels that stood between them and the station. The sides seemed evenly matched as the defending cruisers had now adapted to the surprise attack and was now working in a more unified fashion, keeping the enemy vessels at bay with coordinated volleys of torpedoes and cannon fire.

In Omega's Command Center, which was a circular shaped hall with terminals positioned around a large holo-display that was at this moment showing the battle currently taking place outside the station. Every terminal was manned and active as a Batarian walked around and observed everyone around him, he was wearing brown combat armour and had a scar running down the right side of his face. He narrowed his four eyes as he looked up at the red and blue recreation of the battle, for he was not sure what to make of these Predacons.

' _What are they waiting for, if this was a simple invasion tactic then they would attempt to rush our fleet._ ' he thought as he analysed the data playing out before him.

"Vale, report." Aria called as she entered the room and walked up to his side.

"Our fleet has the enemy bottled up at the space-bridge. It was not easy, having to deal with a surprise attack. But the cruisers have now caught on and are keeping the Predacon ships at bay." the Batarian replied as the Asari looked over the battle data appearing on the holo-display.

"Good, then lets finish this by sending in our ships defending the station. You did send my orders to them…yes?"

Vale looked at Aria with a curious expression.

"I did, but I also told them to wait." he said back, making the Omega leader stare back with a slightly aggravated look.

"Why haven't you sent them?"

"Because our current forces are now containing the enemy, sending in the rest seems like overkill to me. I think it would be best to keep our defence fleet where it is, because this attack just doesn't make sense to me." Vale replied in an honest and professional manner, but Aria felt herself getting angry at his lack of obedience.

"When I give a command, I expect it to be followed to the latter." she spat back, making the Batarian bite his lip as his own anger was being stirred by the Asari.

"You gave me this position because of my tactical thinking, but you won't just let yourself trust my judgement. If you call those cruisers in to the battle, you will leave the station venerable to attack." he spat back, gaining the attention of the rest of the crew working in the Command Center. For it wasn't every day that they witnessed someone banging heads with Aria, usually because they never lasted very long after it.

"Are you forgetting that thanks to MECH, 'my station' now has enough firepower to defend it self from a fleet of dreadnoughts. Plus the Space-bridge is the only way in and out of this system and it is blocked, like you said. So Omega is completely safe. So I want this battle over quickly and those Predacons to know what happens to those who fuck with me…..so send in the ships now!" Aria nearly screamed in Vale's face as her own was now filled with rage as she clenched her fists, a blue like glow emanated from them. The Batarian finally broke and shook his head as he sighed and tapped his com-link in return.

"Defence fleet, this is Lt. Commander Vale. Execute Aria's orders and engage the enemy ships."

He then looked back at the Asari with a disdainful expression, hoping to the 'Pillars of Strength' that they weren't making a fatal mistake.

The cruisers that were orbiting the massive space station then broke away and moved toward the ensuing battle at the mouth of the Space-bridge, before opening fire on the Predacon ships which now had to fight a battle on two fronts.

In the Command Center, Aria smiled as she watched the battle on the holo-screen. Her Omega fleet were now outnumbering the enemy ships by nearly two to one, which were odds that she loved to play. But Vale looked less sure of the situation as he watched it unfold, unable to shake off the feeling that something was off.

' _Something bad is going to happen, I don't need to be an expert to see that and yet the Asari with nearly a thousand years of experience can not._ ' he thought as he glanced over to the Omega leader who was all smiles, shaking his head again at what he saw. But then his fears were answered when a Salarian looked up from the holo-interface of his terminal with a confused expression.

"Sirs, I have detected an unusual anomaly less than three kilometres away from the station." he said in a worried tone, gaining the attention of both Aria and Vale.

"Show us." Vale replied, before the Asari could even voice her thoughts on it. And the Salarian then used his terminal to bring up an image of the Omega station on the main holo-display, showing the pulsing energy signature next to it.

"What is that?" Aria asked, looking over to the Salarian. But then her eyes caught the Batarian's expression as his eyes widened in response.

"It can't be…" he said before looking over to the defence station.

"I want all beam cannons on that side of the station targeting that anomaly now, and raise the station's shields." he directed, earning an annoyed look from Aria.

"What the hell are you doing?" she said back in disgust that he had given an order without running past her first, but the Batarian ignored her as he walked over and stood beside the Vorcha manning the defence station.

"Vale!" she spat as she stormed over to him, earning a sigh from the Lt Commander.

"I am doing my job Aria, the one you gave me to do. Now let me do it before we are attacked!" he replied with as much control over his growing anger as he could muster, considering how the Asari was riding him right now.

"Then explain what that is then." Aria said back as she pointed at the anomaly.

"It's energy signature matches that of the space-bridge before a vortex is opened and it seems that…." the Batarian began to say before the Salarian cut him off.

"The energy signature is changing, we have a Space-bridge vortex opening beside the station." he said back in a panicky tone as outside, the green energy vortex opened and expanded.

"There is something coming through." the Salarian added as Vale looked down at the Vorcha sitting next to him.

"Fire the cannons the instant whatever it is comes through…understand?" he said in a commanding tone, gaining a nod from the officer, just as another ship appeared on the holo-display next to the vortex. The Salarian then immediately pressed the firing button on his holo-interface.

The station's beam cannons suddenly charged up and fired red pulsing beams of energy directly at the large black dreadnought that exited the vortex, each beam though impacted on the new arrival's shields which flickered with a blue hue as their energies reacted to each other. But once the attack was finished, the dreadnought was still there and closing on the station.

"Our attacks had no effect, their shields absorbed the beams." the Salarian stated in a shocked tone, earning a look of utter disbelief from Aria.

"That's not possible, our cannons are derived from the same beam cannons that the Reapers had. There is no way anyone could have learned to counter them."

"Well it seems like they have." Vale replied before the holo-interface on the Salarian's terminal began to beep loudly, gaining their attention.

"Sirs, their weapons are powering up."

"Shields to maximum!" Aria shouted before suddenly the dreadnought opened fire with it's torpedoes, sending a spread of the red glowing projectiles at the Station. Impacting against it's shields and greatly draining their power, as the shield strength monitor on the defence terminal dipped dramatically from one hundred percent all the way down to ten.

"Sir, those weapons are powerful. We can't take another attack like that." the Vorcha said in a panic as the Salarian's terminal beeped again.

"They are firing again!" he exclaimed before the entire room shook as the following spread of torpedoes broke through the shields and impacted at different spots of the station.

"What the hell!" Aria shouted as the terminals flickered on and off due to a drop of power to the Command Center.

"Shields are down, and the enemy dreadnought as taken out not only the weapon emplacements on this side of Omega, but also the power lines connected to the defence grid." another Batarian said from the engineering terminal at the other side of the holo-display.

"Then that means…." the Asari said in complete disbelief, before suddenly being cut off by Vale.

"That we are completely defenceless."

Aria then turned to the Communications terminal that was being manned by another Asari.

"Contact the fleet, and get them to attack that dreadnought."

"They can't help us Aria." Vale said, earning the Omega Leader's attention as she turned to find him looking up at the holo-display of the battle. And she could see what he meant as their fleet was still in the middle of holding back the Predacon ships.

"Sirs, the dreadnought is moving away." the Salarian suddenly said as he brought up the image from his screen to the larger holo-display they were currently watching. It showed the dreadnought turning around and facing the battle at the space-bridge.

"What is it doing?" Aria asked before suddenly watching as it fired several spreads of torpedoes down towards the battle, which then impacted and destroyed several of the Omega cruisers. Greatly tipping the tide of the fight in the Predacons favour.

"Oh my god, they are going to overrun us now." Vale said as he felt all his fears coming true.

' _Why the hell didn't that Asari bitch listen to me!_ ' he thought before looking over to Aria who was just watching the holo-display as it showed the Dreadnought turning back round to face the station.

"Uh, sirs. That dreadnought is targeting us again, and the other enemy ships are now disabling the rest of our cruisers." the Salarian stated, earning a confused expression from both Aria and Vale.

"What, why are they not destroying them?" she asked before the Asari at the coms terminal turned round to face them while holding a hand up to her com-link.

"We are being hailed."

Aria clenched her fist while looking down at the ground beneath her feet, dwelling on the current development.

' _I am not losing this station again, I won't!_ ' she thought before looking back at the Asari.

"Put him on screen." she said, making the officer work her terminal and suddenly the holo-display which had been showing the battle outside deactivated for a split second before then showing a Caucasian man in his mid-forties staring back, his red eyes seemingly staring right through them as a smirk appeared on his face.

"The great Aria T'Loak I suppose." he said, making the Asari narrow her eyes as she felt her rage building up in her heart.

"And who the hell are you?" she spat back, making the unknown man's smirk grow larger as he drank in the angry display that she was showing.

"My name is Lord Galvatron of the Predacons, and I am here to discuss terms of your surrender." he spoke back in a calm manner, which was a polar opposite of the Omega Leader.

"Well, you must definitely be new around these parts. Because otherwise you would know that nobody fucks with me." she spat back, trying to get under the Predacon's skin. But Galvatron merely shrugged in response.

"I do not wish for your forces to be destroyed. As I speak, my forces are disabling your cruisers."

"And why is that?" Vale spoke up, getting the question in before Aria could spit out any more angry remarks. Which earned him an angry stare from the Asari.

"Because I want the forces of Omega to join under my flag, which I cannot guarantee if you keep fighting me." the Predacon Leader replied, earning a thoughtful look from the Batarian Commander as he dwelled on the offer. But before he could say anything else, Aria suddenly spoke up.

"Then you can forget it, because my forces will fight you to the bitter end. Because they are more afraid of me than they are of you." she said with an angry and overconfident tone, which earned her a lot of wide-eyed looks that did not go unnoticed by the Asari. But she ignored them, looking back to see Galvatron's red eyes narrow as he leaned closer to the screen.

"Then prepare to be boarded….. and if you survive what happens next, then I will kill you myself." the Predacon said back with a coldness that made Aria fearful for a split second, though she did not show it. Galvatron then looked away as he conversed with one of his men off screen.

"Prepare the Terracons…..and release Predaking!" he said before the transmission cut off, leaving everyone in the room looking around in wide-eyed fear.

"What the hell did you do?" Vale spat back at Aria who then simply grabbed him by the throat, her hand starting to glow with biotic energy as she stared at his eyes.

"I will not lose Omega again, and I am sick of your attitude towards me. So I give you a choice…" she said before looking around at the others.

"…I give you all a choice. You can either fight for me, or you will die now at my hands." she said as her whole body began to glow with a blue hue as her biotics powered up.

"What say you!" she said back with anger underlining her words before looking back at Vale.

"What say you!"

"I will fight." the Batarian managed to say despite the pressure on his neck.

"So will we all." the others all said with a fearful tone, which made the Asari smirk before she dropped the Lt. Commander to the floor and turned to the crew, not noticing the dagger like stare the Batarian was giving her behind her back.

"We will defend our home and drive them back to wherever they came from, now prepare for the ground assault. Now ready our troops." Aria commanded, earning a nod from the Asari at the communication terminal who spoke into her com-link before looking back to her.

"They are readying as I speak sir, but what did that Galvatron mean by 'Predaking'?" she asked, gaining a concerned look from the Omega Leader.

"I do not know, but we will face it just as we have faced every enemy that has taken arms against us. MECH, the Reapers, the Predacons. It does not….." she started to say before a bright green light suddenly appeared near the Command Center's entrance.

"What the…" Aria said as they all stared at the swirling green anomaly.

"A space-bridge vortex, here?" Vale said as he got back onto his feet and stepped back as he joined Aria who looked up at it and clenched her fists, which glowed with biotic energy.

"Stand fast, because no matter what comes through that vortex. We will kill it regardless."

The suddenly a giant black and orange metallic Dragon came through the vortex and landed in the room which was just barely large enough for it, making the crewmen situated there flee as it stood on all fours with it's wings folded on it's back. The beast looked around before raising it's head and roaring loudly which made the entire room shake, like it had been hit by an earthquake before looking down at Aria and Vale.

It's yellow optics narrowed as it stared at the Asari, like it recognised her somehow. The Omega leader took a defensive stance as her body began to glow with biotic energy, readying herself for a fight. The Dragon though opened it's mouth and revealed itself to be charging up some kind of blast, as a fiery light could be seen from the back of it's throat.

Aria realised what it was going to do and using her biotics, pushed Vale out of the way as Predaking unleashed a fiery blast which enveloped her instantly, leaving the Batarian to look back with in wide-eyed shock at the spot where the Asari stood which was now up in flames.

' _She saved me!'_  he thought, but then he heard a growl and looked up to see the Beast staring down at him with it's teeth bared, readying to strike.

 


	22. Chapter 22

Vale was frozen to the spot, his fear overriding his survival instincts as he stood there before Predaking, the giant metallic dragon who had just ended the life of his boss. Never before had he seen such a Creature such as this, no one on Omega had. Which was why everyone in the room was cowering behind the consoles that had not been destroyed by the beast's arrival, and no one had tried to escape the room since the exit was blocked by this Predaking. This Creature who now was looking down at him with its sharp teeth bared as it readied itself to strike and then snapped its head forward, its large open mouth lunging forward at Vale who raised his arms in a meaningless effort to shield himself from his inevitable fate.

When suddenly a blue biotic blast shot out of the fire next to the Batarian, hitting the Creature's face and knocking it away as it yelped in response. Then everyone including Vale stared in wide eyes disbelief as Aria burst out of the flames and rushed towards the creature, her body from head to toe was completely covered in biotic energy as she launched herself into the air and threw a punch-like motion, that created another biotic projectile that hit Predaking's face again. Making it reel back like it had been hit by a real fist, and send it tumbling on to the floor which unblocked the exit. The Asari then landed on her feet and looked back at everyone, her expression was one of a steely cold stare.

"Everyone out now!" she shouted, but Vale and the crewmen just looked back at her like they had seen a ghost.

"NOW!" she spat before turning around just in time to perform an uppercut motion and knocked Predaking's jaws away wit her biotics just before it reached her. The crew didn't need to be told again as they got up from the hiding spots and bolted for the door, while Vale ran up to Aria who kept her attention on the Dragon which was now getting back to its feet.

"Aria, can you take that thing?" he asked as the Asari charge biotic energy into her hands.

"No, I can only slow it down." she replied, keeping her eyes on the beast.

"Then let's get out of here, no point fighting that thing if it cant be killed."

"In a moment." Aria replied before thrusting her arms up at the ceiling above Predaking, as a biotic energy field suddenly appeared there. Even the Predacon looked up at the blue energy that was swirling over it's head. But then Aria clenched her fists, creating cracks in the ceiling as if she has dug her fingers into it. The Dragon then looked at the pair and roared, like it had figured out what was happening. But it was too late as Aria pulled her arms down suddenly, making the ceiling break apart and fall. Showering the beast in concrete and metal, until it was buried under a massive pile of rubble.

"Now we can go." the Asari said back before she and Vale ran over to the exit, just as movement could be heard beneath the mess that had just been created. And as soon as the room was entirely empty, Predaking burst through the top of the rubble and roared loudly in its aggravation.

The Command Center crewmen were waiting on a catwalk outside of the former nerve center of Omega, after running through a long corridor from the now defunct CC, which had been based inside the main structure of the station. They were looking out at the view of the rest of the station, which looked like it was growing out of the giant asteroid that it had been built into. Each part of the station's exterior that they could see looked like a stalactite in it's appearance, with some connected by walkways, while others stood unconnected. They time looking at the view came to an end the moment Aria and Vale appeared from the building, earning wide eyed stares from all of them.

"Aria sir, we thought you were..." the Communication Asari said in disbelief, earning barely a reaction from her boss who looked out at the rest of Omega that they could see from the catwalk.

"...what? That I was dead. Did everyone forget that I am a biotic, that I could just shield myself in a barrier? Because this wasn't the first time I have done that." she replied with little interest in her voice, but before anyone else could say anything to the Omega Leader, Vale spoke up.

"So what do we do now Aria?"

"We need to make this Galvatron pay for this attack, so I will be seeking him out. But with our fleet being overrun and under siege by these Predacons, we need help." the Asari said back before looking over to her com officer.

"I need you to get to the secondary communication relay near the bottom of this station, once there you are to make contact with Jackson Prime and request the help of his Autobots, and call in reinforcements from the rest of the Terminus systems."

"And do not worry about the Predacons picking up your com-link signals, the array is also shielding them from enemy detection." Vale added as the blue Asari looked back with a worried look.

"Okay, but I may need some help if I come up against any Predacons. My biotics are not that strong."

Aria looked at her with a knowing loon before gesturing to the Vorcha and Salarian.

"You two, take these and escort her to the com-relay." she said while equipping both her pistol and shotgun from her utility belt.

"What about you?" the Salarian said back in an unsure tone.

"I have this." she said as she held up fist and made it glow blue with biotic energy. The three nodded in return before heading off to the nearest elevator, leaving Aria and Vale alone on the catwalk.

"So where to?" the Batarian asked.

"We need to meet up with Nyreen and the Talons, they will be on the other side of the station right now at the sanctuary." the Omega Leader replied, earning a curious look from Vale.

"The sanctuary?"

"It is a large reinforced bunker that was built to keep the civilian population of Omega safe during an attack, and if things ever got worse there is also a shuttle-bay connected to it, with a number of escape shuttles." Aria said back as she activated her com-link.

"Nyreen, Nyreen are you there?" she said, hearing static in return before a familar voice spoke back, warming the Asari's heart.

"Aria, thank god your alright. We heard reports that the Command-center was hit."

"It was, but we all got out. How are things where you are?" the Asari said back.

"The Talons have managed to evacuate half of the Civilian population to the sanctuary, having built up quite a defence there. But I am hearing reports that enemy troops are being deployed all over the station, our forces in those parts who are trying to secure the other civilians are being over run easily, it's something about these enemies being almost beast-like in nature. You should get down here and help me with the sanctuary's defence, at least until we can get the escape shuttles prepped for the civilians. Because I have a bad feeling about this." the Turian female replied with a slightly fearful tone to her voice, one that Aria noticed easily.

"You know I won't just sit back and let these Predacons take the station Nyreen, so I was wondering if you could end a squad of your Talons to meet me at the reactor-core of Omega." Aria said back and with the silence that followed for a quick moment, she could tell that Nyreen was thinking it over or really just worrying about her.

"Alright...I have a squad near that location, they will head there now and secure it until you arrive." the Turian replied.

"Thank you Nyreen." the Omega Leader said back, but almost immediately questioned again by her lover.

"What is your plan then?"

"I intend to make the core overload and channel it through the station's antennas that circle it's exterior."

"Your going to turn the station itself into a weapon, what about everyone onboard?" Nyreen replied, making the Asari smile in return.

' _Nyreen's always thinking of others first, so cute._ ' she thought.

"There is no need to worry Nyreen, the antenna's were not primarily designed for this, but they can handle the energy. And the pathways that lead to them are heavily insulated, so that none of the energy can escape and damage any part of the station or its inhabitants. I am hopping that when released, the excess energy will be enough to cripple or destroy the dreadnought that has us outmatched. Once done, we can re-channel the energy back into our defence grid and take care of the rest of the ships."

"Okay, that is a pretty good plan. My men will be waiting for you. Just double check on those insulated connections, because this place is almost ancient." Nyreen said back in a part cautious, part humorous tone.

"Will do, I'll be back before you know it." Aria replied warmly as she deactivated the com-link, which surprised Vale as he watched. For he knew that the Turian had softened Aria somewhat, but still to see it up close was still a surprise.

"Right we need to..." the Asari began to say to him in her usual cold manner, but something caught her attention as a noise could be heard from within the part of the structure they had just left.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, sounds close by." Vale replied as they heard the noise again, which was coming from the side of the structure overlooking the rest of the station. Then the noise occurred again and then again, getting louder each time.

' _It sounds almost like someone is digging..._ ' Aria thought before her eyes widened as it dawned on her what it was.

"Hide!" the Asari shouted as both she and Vale hid behind one of the cargo containers that littered the catwalk, just as an explosion occurred on the side of the structure. Aria then peeked around the corner and could make out a massive hole in it's wall through the black smoke that billowed out of it, and she could see something moving inside. Suddenly Predaking emerged from the smoke and stood on all fours at the edge of the hole, looking at it's surroundings with what looked like a contemplative stare before roaring. Aria though just kept her eyes on the beast until it spread its wings and launched itself into the air, flying off to another location somewhere on the station.

"Okay, follow me." the Asari said as soon as the coast was clear, with the two heading for a ladder that was connected to a nearby wall.  
"Now its going to take us a few hours to reach the reactor since it is located inside the asteroid that this station is built into, and there is only one elevator along the way and that is over fifteen levels above us in the mine." she explained as she grabbed hold of the ladder before looking back at the Batarian.

"Well we better get started then." he replied, earning a nod from the Omega Leader who began climbing up the ladder, Vale following behind as the sounds of explosions and gunfire echoed around them as the battle for Omega intensified.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

"Don't fail me again Rip-Claw, Galvatron out!" the Predacon spat before deactivating the terminal, looking back at the Omega station as it appeared on the other side of the CIC's canopy. An aggravated expression appeared on his face, for this operation was taking longer than he had anticipated.

' _Yes, we now have control of the fleet based here at Omega, after my Terracons boarded and secured each ship. But that means nothing if we do not kill Omega's Leadership, for I need them out of the way so that I can gain control of the rest of their fleet spread out in the Terminus systems._ ' he thought while clenching his hand into a fist and squeezed it tightly.

' _So why did Rip-Claw have to go and give me news like that._ '

Galvatron while caught in his own thoughts, did not notice that most of the Terracons in the CIC were staring at him.

" _I think you should take notice of your surroundings._ " Megatron suddenly said as he stood beside Galvatron who was seated in the Captain's chair, earning a grunt from the Predacon in return. But he did then see the blank stares looking back at him, and this made the clone feel uncomfortable.

"Get back to work!" he spat, making the others almost jump out of their skin, quickly refocusing on their individual tasks as he sat there and privately cursed at his continuing problem. Which at this moment was chuckling loudly to himself as he stood next to him.

" _Just keep pushing back 'Galvatron', your crew already looks like they are beginning to question your sanity. Shouting and cursing at shadows isnt the ideal thing to do as a Leader, that I know from personal experience. But please continue, because it is fun to see you lose control._ " Megatron said with glee in his voice, but this made Galvatron's spark beat a little faster as his mind was awash with certain memories. Memories that were not his own, but those that belonged to the Decepticon Leader that he had inherited.

He remembered a time when Megatron once spoke of prophecy and destiny as a dark power awakened on Earth, a power that was too great for the Cybetronian Tyrant to fully understand. He believed that he was the herald of that said dark power, a belief not shared by all among his warriors and so that brought with it distrust and a mutiny.

This mutiny failed of course , but Galvatron knew that moment in his past was what he was on about. But as he thought on this moment and the dark power that was at the heart of it, the Predacon felt his spark-beat quickening more as it got hotter. Bringing a certain amount of pain to him so he clutched his chest, though feigning feeling okay when any of the Terracons glanced over to him.

But if any of them had taken a closer look at their Leader, they would have noticed that his red eyes were slowly changing to purple as he gritted his teeth and tried to shift his focus back to the matter at hand. But even that was becoming a challenge as Megatron's voice was not the only one he could hear now, as even though the hallucination was still yapping away at his side, Galvatron could hear the mysterious voice faintly in his mind.

"...Galvatron...Galvatron."

Every time he heard the voice speak, his spark would give off a surge of energy through his body, which made him gasp and his eyes glow ever so slightly.

"Lord Galvatron, are you alright?" one of the Terracons asked as Megatron stepped in between him and the Clone.

" _Your not looking so well but then again, you're a pathetic copy of me. What am I to expect._ "

Galvatron gritted his teeth even harder before rising out of his chair suddenly, knocking the Decepticon Leader off his feet as he did so and looked at the Terracon who spoke just now.

"What is the current status of our mission?" he said as his eyes faded back to their original red, ignoring the hallucination that was now cursing as he climbed back to his feet.

"My..Lord, our forces now control seventy percent of the station. The Omega forces are being out fought at nearly every angle." the soldier replied with an uneasy tone, uncertain about what his master would do next.

"You said nearly...what problems do we have remaining?" Galvatron asked.

" There is an area of the station that is very well defended that we have been unable to penetrate, but sensor scans show that there are a lot of heat signatures in there."

"What about Aria or that Turian of hers?" the Predacon Leader asked.

"Still no sign, there is a significant possibility that one or both is in the heavily protected area. But since it is shielded from our sensors, we can not verify it." the Terracon replied as he turned his attention to his holo-interface.

"Keep looking, we have already been at this longer than expected. I want them both found." Galvatron said back with a hint of annoyance in his voice, as his eyes were now back to their original red and his spark was beating normally again.

' _What in the pit just happened to me?_ ' he thought as he sat down in his chair, taking notice that Megatron had disappeared before looking back at the view-screen.

' _And that voice, it felt more familiar this time. And it gave me strength._ '

But the Predacon Lord simply shook his head as he looked ahead at the Omega station.

' _I will look into this more after we have taken the station._ ' he thought as he returned his attention back to their operation.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Down in the recesses of Omega, at the very bottom of the station. The Asari comms officer and her two comrades walked past a pair of dead Terracons, who had bullet wounds in the center of their foreheads.

"That was nice shooting Slarr." the Asari said to the Vorcha who hissed his appreciation back.

"Well, that was the first time I fired a gun at someone." he replied as the Salarian nervously watched their backs.

"I still cannot believe that we got past those few enemy patrols, let alone all the way down here." he said as he glanced back at the others.

"What do you mean Asot? After you killed two of the three enemies back at the secondary junction on level three, I would have said you were a professional." the Asari said back with a slight smile.

"Well...I didn't know I had it in me Enosa, I am not a merc after all." Asot said back with an almost shy expression.

"None of us are, not really. I mean just because we grew up on Omega, that doesnt make us Mercenaries by default." Slarr Replied before the group exited the corridor to find themselves on a long balcony, one that gave them an almost perfect view of space as the backdrop showed off the star-field which surrounded the station. The group looked above them to see the rest of the station above them, revealing the three to be at the most bottom section of Omega

"Wow, great view...except for those ships of course." Asot said as he stood next to Enosa and pointed towards the Predacon ships now orbiting the station.

"Yes it would, and we can admire it later once their gone." she replied before pointing at an armoured door just aways from them.

"There it is, the station's secondary communications array."

The other two looked and could see that the door was connected to a seperate building which had numerous antenna's and satellite dishes connected to it's underside.

"Okay, we made it. Now lets get in there and contact the Autobots." Slarr replied as Enosa walked up to the door and activated her holo-tool, making a holo-image of a lock appear over the real version of the said object that was located at the door's centre. The Asari typed into her holo-interface which made the lock and it's holo-equivilent to spin around until they were matching, which was followed by an unlocking sound.

"We're in." Enosa exclaimed as the Vorcha opened the door and gestured for them to enter.

"You two go ahead, I will guard this entrance in case any enemies turn up."

"Good luck." Asot said as he and the Asari entered the array.

"You too." Slarr replied before taking position next to the door and keeping his weapon aimed at the doorway they had come out off.

Once inside, Enosa and Asot found themselves surrounded by large super-computers and a single terminal which the Asari marched up to and activated, a orange and yellow holo-interface appearing in front of her.

"How long do you think this is going to take?" the Salarian asked as Enosa typed away on the holo-keyboard, while text scrolled down the screen.

"It's going to take a moment to boot up the system, and then I have to load up the Autobot frequencies before I can try and establish a connection." she replied while keeping her eyes on the data in front of her.

"You know, you have told us we have done great getting you here. But truth be told, we would never have gotten even half way if it hadn't been for the biotic barrier you used to protect us from the squad firing at us from above in the Ba'alah district. You sure have some talent there." Asot said back with a slightly shy smile, which made the Asari blush as she looked at him and mirrored his expression.

"Your welcome Asot. Though like yourself and Slarr, I too have not had any real combat training in my life. The best thing I could do was levitate some furniture, I have never been able to produce barriers before."

"Well your fast learner." the Salarian said back, earning a contemplative look from Enosa as she waited for the terminal to finish it's booting up.

"Have you ever thought about what you may have done if things had been different here on Omega?"

This caught Asot by surprise as his black eyes widened, while looking into her own blue ones.

"No…I mean, what do you mean?"

"We all know what Omega was like before the Reaper War, how it was almost completely lawless. How Aria ran it like a fortress. It only began to change afterwards when Nyreen joined Aria's side and convinced her to let the station's civilians to help run the station and have an active role in it's functionality. Without the Talon Leader's influence, I would have more or less ended up as a stripper or prostitute. Slarr would have ended up joining the Blood Pack or worse…" she answered before the Salarian cut in.

"…And I would have ended up in one of the many drug manufacturing facilities that used to run on the station."

"Exactly, we could have had very different lives to those we lead now. And this is because of Nyreen, she helped give the people of Omega the right to choose their own path and not let Omega choose it for them."

Enosa then turned back to the screen and looked at it as the boot-up finished, earning a curious look from Asot.

"We may not be soldiers, but our home with our families and friends is under attack. So here I am, fighting to defend it….. for them…..and for Nyreen, because of the lasting change she brought to Omega and to it's Leader."

"As will I and I am sure everyone else is too." the Salarian replied as he placed his hand on the Asari's shoulder in a supportive gesture, earning a smile from her as she looked back at him before pressing the red flashing button on the terminal's holo-keyboard, which brought the super-computers around them to full power.

"Right, I am sending a standard distress call to all Omega vessels and colonies in the Terminus systems." she said as she executed a command on the holo-screen.

"Great, now for the Autobots." Asot said with relief in his voice. Enosa then began typing away as she brought up a list of frequencies onto the screen, and attempted to activate them one at a time. But they remained inactive as one after another they became highlighted in a red hue, earning a frustrated expression from the Asari as the battle outside of the array could be heard.

The fighting was in the streets, inside the very homes of the people of Omega, who were either cowering as the Talons fought around them against the Predacons, or taking a stand alongside them. But time was running out as the enemy were on the final stretch of the road to victory, and this was well known by Enosa who simply shook her head and began typing on the holo-keyboard again.

"No, one of these frequencies has to work." she said as Asot watched her work away, a woman who was full of focus to her objective. Because she knew what would happen if she were to fail, and that was not an option. The Salarian meanwhile kept quiet, so to distract his friend in her task. But after a several attempts Enosa stopped and just looked down at the holo-keyboard.

"It's not working, none of them are working." she said in a desperate tone.

"Perhaps the array is damaged?" Asot asked, making the Asari shake her head in response.

"No, the array is working fine. And the signal is getting through, but there just hasn't been a response. It's almost as if the Federation has been blacked out, because someone would have received our distress call otherwise."

"So what do we do?" the Salarian asked as the tone of his voice began to sound desperate, the reality of their situation beginning to dawn on him.

"I don't know…" Enosa said before the holo-screen beeped at her, earning a curious look from the Asari and Salarian.

"What is it?" Asot asked as his blue female friend looked at the screen and began to smile as a message scrolled down it.

"Yes, the other colonies got our message and are sending reinforcements." she said before turning around and pulling the surprised Salarian into a hug.

"That's great news." he replied as he found himself returning her embrace as they stood there in the array control room.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile in the Nemesis CIC, the Terracon manning the communications terminal suddenly picked up a signal on his holo-screen, and so turned to Galvatron who was now on the catwalk over looking the room.

"Lord Galvatron, I am picking up a signal from an area at the station's lowest point. It appears to be a communication array." he stated, earning a glare from the Predacon Lord who looked down at him from the catwalk.

"Patch into their comms and please tell me that they have not called for reinforcements." he said back, making the Terracon turn his attention back to his terminal, typing away on the holo-interface before placing a finger up to his com-link as he listened.

"Yes they have sir, and the reinforcements are on their way."

Galvatron gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he looked away, trying to keep his anger from flaring up.

"I want you to tell the fleet to be ready at the Space-bridge for the reinforcements arrival, and have one cruiser find and destroy this communication array. Do it now." he spat back at the Terracon, without even looking. Even the back of the Predacon Lord made the minion fearful as he got back on to his com-link, following his Leader's orders to the letter as Galvatron looked back out at the space station.

"Cruiser 'Dragon's fire', Lord Galvatron orders you to head to these coordinates and destroy the array located there. And all remaining ships are to take up defensive positions around the space-bridge and ready themselves for the Omega reinforcements that will be appearing at any time now."

As this was happening, Enosa and Asot were still in the Communication Array when the Asari's com-link activated.

"This is Aria, have you reached the array yet?" the Omega Leader asked on the other side of the transmission.

"Yes, we are here and the reinforcements are on their way." Enosa replied with a confident tone.

"Excellent, and the Autobots?"

"...There has been no response from them Aria." the Asari replied.

"How can that be, are they ignoring us? Because I don't see Jackson Prime doing that." the Omega Leader said back in disbelief.

"No, its more like the signal is not being received." Enosa reported as she looked at the data on her holo-screen. Then for a long moment, Aria was quiet as if dwelling on her thoughts.

"Are the Predacons jamming us?" she then asked.

"No, they don't even know..." the young Asari said before being cut off by Slarr calling them."

"Errr, guys you better see this."

This made both Asot and Enosa walk back outside and saw the Vorcha pointing away from them, so they looked in that direction and saw an Autobot ship closing on their location.

"Why is that coming here." Slarr hissed, while Enosa put her hand to her com-link because Aria was still talking in her ear..

"Enosa, what is going on? Answer me!" the Omega Leader demanded.

"They have found us Aria, a cruiser has arrived a the Array." the young Asari said back in a somewhat calm manner, as if she knew what was about to happen and yet had accepted it.

"We have to get out of here." Asot said before all three noticed that the gun ports of the cruiser were open and began to glow.

"Its too late." Enosa declared as she tapped her com-link.

"Aria, we've done what we can. I just wish..." she started to say before she and her friends attention was distracted by the cruiser as it fired three torpedoes, which hurtled towards them at velocity. And suddenly everything seemed to slow down around her as the three bright red lights drew closer. Enosa found herself engrossed by them and took a deep breath which was cut short as the projectiles hit the array, causing it to explode and send debris out in all directions. The ship then began to move away, heading back to the rest of the fleet.

And as they left the wreckage of what was once the communication array, little thought was given to the three children of Omega who had just died in it's defence.

The Terracon who was manning the communication terminal in the Nemesis CIC looked at his holo-screen as a message appeared, earning a smile from him as he turned around and looked up at Galvatron who was standing over him on the catwalk.

"Lord Galvatron, I have just received word that the secondary communications array has been destroyed."

The Predacon Leader smiled back as he sighed in relief, earning a similar feeling from the minion.

"Good, hopefully we have stopped them in time." Galvatron replied, but then the Terracon's holo-interface beeped which made him look back at it. This earned a curious expression from the Lord as he looked down at his crewman.

"What is it?"

"Our systems are picking up several comm signals from all over the station, the secondary array must have been shielding them from us. But with it destroyed, they are now available to us." the Terracon replied.

"Well, who are they?" the Predacon Leader asked, the tone of his voice showing signs of impatience.

"Well one is coming from the currently contested area which houses a very large number of civilians, and it matches Nyreen Kandros." the minion replied quickly, hoping to keep his master from growing angry.

"Can you pinpoint Aria?" Galvatron then asked.

"Yes, Her signal is coming from within the asteroid that Omega is built into. It is nearing the station's reactor-core." the Terracon replied as he looked up at his master, who's expression became one of concern, as Galvatron began to picture in his mind what the desperate Asari may be up to. So he turned around and looked over to the Helm station.

"Activate the ground-bridge and open a portal in the Reactor-core area." he snapped, earning a hesitant but fast response from the Terracon manning it. And before a few seconds had passed, a bright green vortex opened up behind the Predacon who turned round and began to walk towards it.

"My Lord, allow me to have some Terracons join you?" one of the crewmen said, earning a glance from Galvatron.

"No, I will deal with Aria myself. Inform Six-Shot that he is in charge of the fleet until I return."

And with that the Lord of the Predacons walked through the vortex which closed behind him, leaving the Terracons to return to their duties.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

A moment earlier…

In a dimly lit tunnel inside Omega's Mine, Aria was holding her hand to her com-link as Vale kept an eye out for any more Terracons. The Asari had just lost contact with her team down at the Communication array, and had tried to reacquire their signal.

"Still can't reach them?" the Batarian asked as he looked back down the tunnel they had come from, making the Aria shake her head in return.

"I don't think they are there anymore." she replied coldly, though Vale could swear that there was a slither of pain in her voice.

"A lot of Omega's people have lost their lives today, but we can't stop and mourn for them now. Not while these Predacons are still here." he said, earning a nod from the Asari who looked back, her facial expression one of cold anger now.

"Yes, lets get this done already. These Predacons will rue the day they attacked us, I swear it." she replied as they again moved forward with their torches lighting the way through the darkness ahead.

"How far are we from the reactor-core? Because we have been in these mines for over an hour." Vale asked, since the journey to their current location had taken a somewhat longer time than Aria had predicted at the beginning. Which had probably been down to the fact that they had fought their way through several groups of enemy soldiers in the various districts that lay between the destroyed Command Center and the Mines. But since entering the old and mainly disused Mining system, the pair had not come across a single Predacon…..which Vale found to be a relief.

"It is right ahead of us." the Asari answered as she shone her torch light ahead of them, revealing a large rusted metal door. As they both walked over to it, Aria activated her holo-tool and by typing a command into it's interface, a sudden unlocking sound echoed through the tunnel and the door opened up, revealing a small corridor with metallic walls and ceiling.

"Welcome to the heart of Omega." the Asari exclaimed as they walked through it and into a massive room with multiple open floors above them which were populated with giant machinery that were connected by various pipes, cables which flowed around the room. It all looked very industrial as in the center of it was the reactor, a massive cylinder that reached up into the room's very heights, and was glowing and crackling with blue and purple energy. And all of the pipes and cables were connected to it.

"Impressive, so what do we do now?" Vale asked as they walked onto the balcony directly in front of the station's heart, which had a number of terminals in the middle of it.

"We can reroute and begin the power discharge from these terminals." the Aria replied as they walked up to them, the Asari activated them with her holo-tool. Making a number of holo-interfaces appear showing the status or the core and a number of functions at their disposal.

"Use that right hand side terminal to change the flow of the power as I use this one to build up the charge." the Asari said as they both got to work on the task at hand, using the orange glowing inter-faces.

A few minutes past as they typed away on their respective terminals holo-keyboards before Aria pressed on final command.

"Okay, looks like we are in business." she said with a slight smile as a green light activated on her screen.

"Same here, I have switched and rerouted the power grid to allow for the discharge. Certain areas of the station will lose power and life support, but they can get by for a few minutes until we are done." Vale said, earning a concerned look from Aria.

"What about the Sanctuary, will that area also be effected?"

"No, I have made sure that it will be fine." the Batarian replied, making the Omega Leader sigh with relief.

"Good, last thing I want is for Nyreen to tear me a new one for putting the civilian population at risk. Now, its time to give Omega the advantage." she said back confidently as she prepared to press the initiation button.

"Omega lost the advantage a long time ago." a familiar voice spoke from behind the pair, making them spin round and see Galvatron standing before them with his own weapon aimed at them. A space bridge portal could be seen closing in the doorway behind the Predacon Leader as he smiled darkly back at them.

"You seem very confident about that." Aria replied, making the Con narrow his red eyes at her.

"My fleet surrounds Omega and my Terracons have taken control of the vast majority of the station. Surrender now and maybe I will spare your civilians any more suffering."

"I will not surrender, not to you or anyone else. For I have reinforcements that should be here any moment now." the Asari replied.

"And my ships will shoot them down the moment they exit the space-bridge, I think you should re-evaluate your position here." Galvatron countered, but Aria just smirked back.

"I also have made contact with Jackson Prime of the Autobots, and he is sending his fleet to assist us." she then lied, hoping to ignite a spark of doubt in her confident adversary. But then the Predacon Leader's smile widened as he gave her a knowing look.

"I seriously doubt that since the Prime is my prisoner and his Autobots are in no condition to help you."

"You lie." Vale spoke up with a wide-eyed look of disbelief as he held his gun at the Predacon, gaining Galvatron's stare as he kept his weapon trained on both him and Aria.

"Believe me or not, but it is the truth. So put down your weapons and surrender, or I will kill you both." he replied with a cold intensity that had Vale pondering on his choices, but Aria clenched her hands into fists as she stared back with a similar expression.

"Never! You said you would kill me, I would really like to see you try." she said back as her fists began to glow with biotic energy.

"Very well, this should be most interesting." Galvatron replied as the three stood ready in a sort of Mexican stand-off, waiting to see who would make the first move.

 


	23. Chapter 23

Galvatron kept his gun pointed at Aria and Vale, his aim was completely steady as he looked at both of them. The Batarian looked somewhat unsure of himself, and was definitely the weak link. But Aria on the other hand, though she was completely unarmed in the case of not having any sort of physical weapon. She was the far more dangerous due to her biotic ability, which the Predacon could see perfectly because of the blue hue coming off the purple Asari's fists as she stared daggers back at him.

"Raaagh!" Aria then cried out as she ran at Galvatron who immediately fired back with his rifle, but then the Asari in the blink of an eye appeared directly in front of the Predacon and punched him with her glowing fist, knocking him to the ground with what felt like a tonne of steel.

' _How did she?_ ' he began to think before suddenly finding himself levitating off the ground, suddenly surrounded by biotic energy. He saw Aria standing in front of him, her face was one of complete rage.

"You have killed so many of my people, your ass is mine." she spat before kicking him in the stomach, and again it felt like he had been hit with something far more powerful as he was flung across the ground until he rolled to a stop and collapsed on his back.

' _It's her biotics, they increase the strength of her strikes._ ' he thought as he then rolled back on to his front and got on to his knees.

"Is this it? A Volus high on Red Sand would have given me more of a fight." Aria said back as she watched the Predacon Lord climbing back onto his feet. But as soon as he was standing back up, Galvatron was back down on his back as the Asari swatted him aside with her biotics like he was nothing more than a fly. Meanwhile Vale just stood and watched, unsure if he should get involved since Aria seemed to have the situation under control. But then Galvatron was flung pas him like a rag doll, crashing into a wall at the far side of the room before hitting the ground hard.

"Is this going as well as you had pictured?" Aria asked as she levitated the Predacon in front of her with her biotics.

"Get scrapped!" the bruised and beaten adversary spat back, earning a sly smile from the female who then uppercut him, causing a flash of blue light as she sent him flying up into the air. And then she reached up with her hand and stopped him in mid air, before clenching her hand in a fist which made the energy that Galvatron was caught in suddenly burn his being, making him cry out in pain before she then yanked her hand down like she was throwing something in front of her.

This then caused Galvatron to be sent falling to the ground with enough velocity that when he hit the floor, that the impact left a small crater where he landed. And there he lay, the Leader of the Predacons, and he looked like hell with his silver armour now without its shine and showing damage. But was nothing compared to how injured his body was as Galvatron felt as though he had just been through several rounds with Devastator, but as his blurred vision saw the purple Asari walking over to him, he then heard a voice that made him feel even worse.

" _Is that it, is that all you have left. Its just as I thought, you are nothing more than a mistake. A weak, pathetic shadow of myself. And now I get to see that mistake finally corrected...with your death._ "

Galvatron looked up to see Megatron standing over him, looking down with a gloating-like expression just as Aria walked into view and looked down at him, her hands pulsing with biotic energy. But then everything began to go dark as Galvatron passed out.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Suddenly the pain that the Predacon Lord had felt due to the punishment that Aria had inflicted on him was gone, making him feel confused as to how this had happened. So he opened his eyes and sat up to find himself in almost complete darkness, except for a faint purple light source that was hovering far above him like a moon in the night sky.

' _Where am I?_ ' he thought as he got to his feet and began walking in direction of the light, which slowly got larger and brighter the more closer he got to it. But as he walked the Predacon saw that apart from the purple light, there was nothing else around him but the void. A darkness that even seemed to swallow the light shining above him and then that was when he heard the voice again, the one from his dreams but somewhat fainter.

" **Galvatron.** "

Though voice's volume was faint, like the light source, it grew louder as the Predacon walked on. The voice sounded old, but was not lacking for power as it spoke very deeply.

"The Predacon kept walking on through the void, wondering how he even got wherever the scrap he was now.

' _Last thing I remember was being beaten down by that Asari bitch._ ' he thought as he finally walked up to the purple light source which he was surprised to find out, was actually two. They both shone down on the Con who looked up at them with a curious expression.

' _They look like a pair of optics.'_  he thought as he looked up at them.

" **At last we meet….Galvatron.** " the voice then said, no longer echoing around him but coming directly from the bright purple lights above.

"Who are you?" the Predacon asked with a curious tone to his voice.

" **It is I…..Unicron.** "

"But that is not possible, for I read that you were destroyed. There is no possible way that you could be here." Galvatron replied with a surprised tone in his voice as he continued to stare up at the lights which narrowed at him.

" **Silence, I am not here to answer your questions. But to open your eyes, since time is so very short for us at this moment.** " Unicron said back, earning a confused and slightly fearful expression from the Con.

"What do you mean?" Galvatron asked as he thought about what had just happened to him just prior to this.

' _Does he mean my fight with Aria?_ '

" **I have been trying to communicate with you for a while now, but something has always blocked my attempts.** "

"You mean the dreams, that was your voice that I could hear if only faintly." the Predacon replied.

" **That is correct, for each time I tried to reach out to you. But something has held me back, I thought that it was because of my weakened condition but instead it is because of you!** " the Chaos Bringer answered, taking Galvatron aback with his words.

"What do you mean 'me'?"

" **You were not born into this existence Galvatron, not naturally.** "

"If you are referring to my genesis, then you would be correct." the Con replied, making the lights that shone down on him begin to burn and injure him.

"Arrgh!" the Predacon Leader grimaced as the lights narrowed more, making him raise his arms in a vain effort to shield himself.

" **Of course I am correct, for I know you are a copy of the Decepticon Leader Megatron. That pathetic prideful fool believed himself to be my herald, but even though you have his looks and memories, I believe that you are different to him.** " Unicron said back as the lights then faded a little, taking the burning effect away as Galvatron dropped his hands down to his sides and looked back with a curious expression.

"You do?" he asked with a hopeful tone, as this was a question he had been repeatedly asking himself since his beginning.

" **I can see into your mind and so know it to be true, but you do not think the same.** "

Galvatron felt himself getting agitated, and so took a step toward the lights and braced himself for whatever would come of his next few words.

"I realise you said time is short, but I need more. How do you know this? How are we even communicating if you are supposedly dead?"

The lights suddenly brightened and the Predacon gritted his teeth as he waited for the Chaos Bringer's response.

" **You dare to demand answers from me, you should know your place and who it is you are speaking too.** "

But Galvatron would not back down as he stood his ground and looked up into the two purple lights, which stayed exactly the same for one long moment until the Chaos Bringer sighed.

" **Again, you prove yourself to be different to the one you are based on. For he would be on his hands and knees grovelling to me by now, very well.** "

The Predacon Leader breathed a sigh of relief as he relaxed a little, staring up into the lights.

"Thank you...Lord Unicron." he said with a respectful tone.

" **After Primus sacrificed himself and destroyed my physical form, everything went dark and I lost myself to the void of nothingness. I have now idea how long my mind drifted through that vacuum which was devoid of anything at all, then one day I suddenly found that I was no longer drifting aimlessly, as if something was drawing me to it. There was a bright light and I found that I was staring at a book.** " Unicron reminisced, earning a curious expression from Galvatron.

"You mean the 'Covenant of Primus'."

" **Yes, that was what I saw. It acted like an anchor and kept my mind from drifting away again, and I found that I was not alone as I could hear your thoughts. It didn't take long to realise what had happened after that?** " the voice replied.

"Why? What did you realise?"

" **Galvatron... I exist in your very essence, in your very spark.** "

The Predacon's eyes widened as it dawned on him what Unicron meant, as he remembered his own awakening.

"You mean the slither of Dark Energon that Megatron had my spark bonded with when he had me created."

" **Yes, that is why I know your thoughts and communicate with you. For as long as even the smallest drop of my blood remains, then so do I. And it has been bonded with you, meaning that we are too.** "

The Con remained quiet as he listened to the Chaos Bringer who continued.

" **It has joined us together, you and I...** "

Unicron then went quiet for a moment, earning a confused look from Galvatron.

"Unicron...Unicron?"

" **Our time is running short, as I said previously. There has been something blocking me from you this whole time, something that is acting like a poison in your spark.** " the Chaos Bringer said.

"What is it?" the Predacon asked as the two light sources began to dim and flicker on and off.

" **Look to your right?** "

Galvatron did as the voice instructed, looking away from the purple lights and into the void that still surrounded him. His eyes widened a little when he spotted two small red lights just aways from him, but at eye level.

"What is that?" he asked as he took a step toward them.

"You really are a fool 'Galvatron'." a familiar voice spoke, making the Predacon's eyes widen as he recognised the being who was walking out of the shadows towards him.

"Megatron!" he spat while suddenly taking a defensive stance, earning a laugh from the Decepticon.

"Oh don't you look precious, now stand down and remember your place. Your my Clone and a worthless, pathetic one at that." Megatron replied while he narrowed his optics, staring daggers at the unsure looking Predacon.

" **Galvatron, heed my words. That is not Megatron, he died many years ago. This version of him is simply a manifestation of your fears and doubts, coupled with your hate for your creator.** " Unicron said, earning the clone's attention as he looked away from the hallucination.  
"What?" Galvatron replied in a shocked and confused tone.

"I would not listen to 'him' if I were you. I mean if I am really just an object of your imagination, then shouldn't he be one too." Megatron said back with a knowing smile.

The Predacon did not know what to think as he had Megatrob in front of him, and Unicron apperently all around his person. This left the Con utterly confused as he stood there, completely lost in his own thoughts.

' _What do I do, who do I believe?_ ' he thought as he felt the pressure growing on him, earning flashes of purple lightning to dance across the void around them.

" **Galvatron...that slither of Dark Energon that is bonded to your very spark is very powerful, you have had moments where you have sampled that strength. But until you defeat Megatron and what he represents, you will never be free to achieve the destiny that is before you.** " Unicron then said, making Galvatron look around with a pleading expression.

"How can I...ugh!" he then said before a vice-like grip could be felt around his throat, making him look back to see that Megatron had him by his neck.

"Listen well, you are a Clone. You are a pathetic, degenerate waste or my time. You will never accomplish what I have, because you are merely a shadow of my very greatness." the Decepticon spat as he narrowed his red optics at the Clone, who suddenly looked back at him with an expression of pure hate.

"What have you ever truly accomplished?" he spat as he grabbed the hallucination's arm and dug his claws into it, causing energon to bleed out. This made Megatron grimace as he let go of Galvatron, who quickly took advantage by punching the Decepticon in the face, sending him on to his hands and knees.

"You never managed to completely defeat the Autobots, or even their Leader at the time...Optimus Prime." he continued to say as Megatron looked up at him.

"I defeated Zeta Prime, or did you forget in that cloned mind of yours."

"Yes you did, but he was not a bearer of the Matrix, was he. Not like Optimus, or the one that currently resides in my brig." Galvatron spat as he threw another punch at the Decepticon, who then blocked and grabbed his arm.

"Degenerate little scrap, You can not hope to defeat a Gladiator of Kaon." he replied with a dark grin before he then threw the Predacon to the ground and pinned him there, earning a grimace from the clone who looked back at him.

"That's what you think Megatron..." Galvatron replied as he grabbed both of the Decepticon's arms and pulled him into a head-but, knocking him off him and allowing the clone to get back to his feet.

"...But you forget that I have those skills too!" he added before rushing at his adversary and punching him in the face, earning a grunt from Megatron who then felt his jaw and smiled.

"I guess I did...or perhaps I just don't consider you to be a worthy fight, being a failed clone and all."

"Well I think it is time we found out." Galvatron replied as he took a fighting stance, which amused the Decepticon.

"Yes, lets end this debacle once and for all." he said back as he mirrored his copy before they both charged at one another, each throwing a punch that connected on the others face which made them stumble back slightly. But then Galvatron went straight back in with a round-house kick, one that the Hallucination saw coming and blocked before punching his clone in the stomach, following it up with an elbow to the face. After that hit, the Predacon was back on his hands and knees with Megatron smiling down at him.

"Again you prove me right, that there is only one Megatron!"

Galvatron looked up at his creator and wiped the blood from his mouth, narrowing his red eyes.

"You know, I have spent my entire existence denying that you and I are anything alike despite our CNA."

"And so you should." the Decepticon gloated as he equipped his arm-blade and took steps towards his fallen clone, raising the melee weapon to strike.

"But the truth is...we are the same..." the Predacon added, making Megatron stop dead in his tracks with a surprised and confused expression on his face.

"What?" he spat as Galvatron smiled at him.

"...but I won't let that fact... decide my destiny!"

The Con then kicked out at his hallucination's leg, damaging his knee and forcing him to the ground, and the Predacon pounced on him and punched him in the face to daze the Decepticon. The Clone then grabbed the Decepticon's arm and snapped the arm-blade off before stabbing it into Megatron's chest.

"Arrgh!" Megatron grimaced while Galvatron got back to his feet and looked down at his creator, before chuckling to himself.

"What do you find so funny?" the Decepticon Leader spat as he looked at his clone who grabbed him the neck and lifted him onto his knees.

"Well...I guess that it is because, despite the fact that we are the same. I still can't stand your face." Galvatron replied before punching at Megtron's face, but the Hallucination blocked that attack and smiled.

"You never lear...!" he said as he countered with a punch of his own, but the Predacon grabbed that fist mid-punch and then began to crush the hand within his own, making Megatron grimace as his clone looked down at him.

"Actually...I do. That is the main difference between us Megatron, which is why my Predacons and I are on the verge of having the entire galaxy on their knees, you never even came close to that." the Predacon replied as he tightened his grip on the Decepticon's hand and mangled it, earning a smirk From him.

"You may think you..." Megatron began to say before Galvatron cut him off.

"You know I am really tired of hearing your voice..." he said as his eyes began to change, followed by his body as his beast form took over.

"...It really enrages my spark." he said as Megatron watched in wide eyed fear as his clone stood before him in his beast mode, holding the Hallucination's mangled hand in his razor clawed fist, the claws digging further in and spilling more energon out of it.

"So I think it's time for you to face oblivion." the Predacon added as he grabbed the Decepticon's head and pulled, making Megatron scream in agony right before his head was ripped right off his body, which fell to the ground in a heap as energon poured out into a large puddle. Galvatron simply stood there and looked at the head of his creator there in his hands, as it's red optics faded to nothing.

Galvatron then turned his back to the corpse and tossed the head over his shoulder casually, satisfied to finally have Megatron out of his way. Suddenly the bright purple lights reappeared over the Predacon, though now they looked like optics as Unicron's face was finally revealed to him.

" **You have overcome your fears and doubts and so proven yourself worthy Galvatron. Now, it is time for you to wake up and end this distraction you are taking part in.** "

"But the Asari I was fighting..." The Predacon began to say before he was suddenly cut off by the Aeon.

" **She will be no threat to you now. Not with the abilities you can now call upon from me.** "

"And what of this destiny of mine?" Galvatron replied with a curious tone, making Unicron's optics narrow in return.

" **I can only tell you that you have a destiny, it is not for me to tell what it is.** "

"But..."

" **If you want your answers, then read from the covenant of Primus once you are done on Omega, then we will converse further. Now go!** " the Aeon's voice boomed, before everything suddenly went white around Galvatron, blinding him.

**PRIME EFFECT 4  
**

Back in the Reactor-Core, Aria stood over the unconscious body lf Galvatron and raised her hand above her head as it pulsed with biotic energy. Which then shifted into five razor sharp claws, as she stared daggers down at her enemy.

"Time to die 'Galvatron'." she said before swiping her biotic claws down on the Con, but he suddenly raised an arm and grabbed her's by the wrist. The Asari's eyes widened as she looked down in surprise, as the Predacon opened his own which were now glowing purple instead of their usual red.

"That's 'Lord Galvatron'." he spat back before his body began to glow with a purple hue, and suddenly Aria was sent flying onto her back a few yards away. Vale watched in wide-eyed fear as Galavtron got back to his feet and stood there, looking somewhat different than before. For his armour was still mainly silver with black and purple mixed in, but the joints and points were the pieces of his armour joined were now pulsing with purple energy.

Aria got back to her feet and looked at her newly risen adversary, who was staring back at her with a knowing smile.

"What the hell just happened?" she said as she clenched her fists, making them glow with a blue hue.

"You could say that I have had an epiphany, I believe that is the term for it." Galvatron replied in an almost casual tone.

"Don't really care." the Asari replied before she performed a biotic charge, moving at almost the speed of light right at the Predacon Lord. But Galvatron smiled and simply punched in front of himself with how glowing fist, an impact was heard before Aria reappeared and fell to the ground hard just aways from him.

"That's not possible." she said as a treacle of blood ran down from her nose and mouth while looking back at the enemy Commander, who began walking over to her.

"Things have definitely changed for the better." he said before the Omega Leader held her hands before her and fired several biotic blasts, but Galvatron replied by holding his own hand in front of him which effortless dissipated them the moment the energy came in contact with him.

"That tickles..." he replied as he came to a stop and stood over the Asari, before then grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the ground.

"I think you should surrender now." the Predacon said, but as Vale continued to watch from the spot he was rooted to, Aria began to glow very brightly as her face was one of thunder.

"Never!" she spat before unleashing a biotic flare that almost blinded the Batarian as it enveloped Galvatron, filling the entire room in biotic energy like an explosion.

A moment later and it was over as residual biotic energy crackled like lightning around the room's perimeter and around the reactor, causing the lights in the room to flicker on and off for several seconds. Vale got back to his feet, having been knocked down by the force of the blast. He looked at the reactor core and shook his head.

' _That was foolish of Aria, she could of made the reactor breach._ ' he thought while looking back to where the fight had been taking place and saw only the Asari, who was on her knees with her biotic hue fading since she had just used such a powerful attack. But there was no sign of the Predacon as Aria opened her eyes and saw the same thing.

"Did I get him, is he dead?" she panted as Vale shrugged his shoulders, and looked around the room one more time. But then as his back was turned, he heard a grunt and spun back round to see Galvatron standing there with the Asari pinned to the floor by his foot on her throat.

' _Where did he appear from?_ ' the Batarian thought with a confused and panicky expression as he just watched, frozen to the spot by his fear.

"That was a nice move Aria, didn't do you much good though did it." he said as his body continued to glow with the unknown purple energy, looking down at her with an expression of amusement.

"Are you done yet?" he asked while putting a bit more pressure on her throat with his boot, making her gasp for air.

"Go...to... hell!" she managed to say between the gasps for air, as she focused all of her remaining biotic energy and recreated her barrier. She then punched the air in front of her, as an energy projection of what looked like a fist then hit Galvatron square in the face which sent him flying away into the wall, creating a crater.

"I have had it with you." she spat as she got back to her feet, before holding her fists at her sides. She then narrowed her eyes and focused the energy from her barrier and into her fists which began to pulse brightly, meanwhile Galvatron got back to his feet and chuckled as he looked back at the Asari.

"Now that almost hurt Ari..." he said, his purple eyes going wide as he saw what she was doing. But before he could do anything about it, Aria punches both fists in front of her and unleashed a massive biotic energy projectile which flew across the room and hit the Predacon head and slamming him back into the wall before the immediate area around him exploded. Aria then fell to her knees again and panted as the act left her physically exhausted, Vale meanwhile was still watching with wide eyed amazement at what he had seen his Leader do.

"I think you got him this time." the Batarian said, earning an unreadable expression from Aria, one that made him feel a little uncomfortable. So he instead looked over at the destroyed section of the room, which could not be seen fully for all the smoke that billowed from the small fire that was burning there.

' _There is no way anyone could have survived that._ ' he thought as he began to breath easy, but just as he took a deep breath, he suddenly found it stuck in his throat when suddenly a purple blur shot out of the smoke and hit Aria so hard, that she fell instantly onto her back. The Asari felt like she had just been hit by a star-ship as the unwelcoming feelings of a concussion greeted her head, making her vision burry. But there was no mistaken the sight of Galvatron standing over her once more.

"Time to end this...now!" he said as he then knelt down and began to pummel her face with his fists, which were not only glowing purple but now looking far more beast like. In fact the Predacon also looked more like a beast-man than he had when the Con invaded their home. Vale once again felt like his heart had stopped as for the...damn, he had lost count of the times Aria had looked like winning this battle. But now things looked hopeless since Galvatron was now looking even more dangerous and feral as he roared while continuing to pummel the Asari before picking her now rag-doll like body up and throwing it to the ground. The Batarian could only watch as fear had frozen him to the spot yet again, as he saw how bloody and beaten Aria looked as she lied on the floor.

"Now I will kill you...as I said so earlier, but you still have a part to play before then." Galvatron said to the Asari who then fell unconscious. He then turned his attention to Vale who just looked back, earning a sly grin from the Predacon Leader.

' _He is terrified of me, excellent. It's just as I thought, the Asari has them all controlled through fear...so all I need to do is offer them another way._ ' he thought before walking over to the fearful Batarian, who then re-aimed his weapon at the Con who sighed in return while remaining completely calm.

"If you were going to use that, I assume you would have already." he said, earning a confused expression from Vale who looked back at his gun and then at Galvatron. All four of his eyes were wide and full of fear as the Predacon opened his hands and held his arms out in a disarming fashion, as the purple aura around him dissipated with his eyes returning to their blood red.

"what...are you doing?" the Batarian asked in a hesitant manner, as the Con walked ever closer to him, noticing that only his armour retained the purple glow inside it's joints.

"There is no need for that, because if I wanted you dead then you would already be that." Galvatron said, gaining a head shake from Vale.

"How can I trust you..?"

"We are talking are we not, I would think that would be a big enough clue to my intentions toward you." the Predacon replied, earning an unsure look from the Batarian who could not decide if he should keep his weapon drawn.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to lower the weapon...and join me." Galvatron said as he then held out his hand, making Vale look back in surprise.

"I did not come to Omega to destroy you all, but in fact liberate you from Aria's tight grasp." the Con added as the Batarian began to slowly lower his weapon.

"I don't understand..."

"As far as I can tell, Aria has had all the mercs in the galaxy at her disposal...and yet what have you accomplished under her rule?" he asked in an honest tone which made Vale look away and dwell on his words.

' _For all stability that Aria and Nyreen have brought to the Terminus systems...Galvatron has a point, things were far more interesting when we were killing and at each others throats._ ' he thought before looking back at the Predacon.

"Are you saying...?"

"I am asking you and your comrades to join my Predacons. And together we will take this galaxy and bring the Federation down upon itself. What say you?" Galvatron asked, earning a thought expression from the Batarian as he looked behind the Predacon at Aria who was still lying on the ground unconscious.

' _I know she saved my life...but I never did like her or her methods of Leadership._ ' Vale thought before meeting his eyes with the Con Leader.

"What would you have me do if I was to join your army?"

"You are Aria's top Lieutenant, correct?"

"Yes." the Batarian replied with a respectful nod.

"Then you will do so again, answering to no one but myself. Serve me well and you will be rewarded, fail me...and the consequences will be dire." Galvatron said back with a tone awash with authority, earning a slight smile from Vale who reached out with his hand, grasping the Con's as the pair shook.

"Sounds fair, in that case I am yours to command...Lord Galavatron. And I know the others will fall in line as well."

"I know, so do you have any devices that we can use to dampen Aria's biotics with?" the Predacon Leader asked, gaining a nod from The Batarian.

"Yes, Aria does have a store of biotic clamps that she keeps just in case any of her other Asari try something stupid. I have the coordinates."

"Please, give them to me." Galvatron asked as he activate his holo-tool, making Vale almost stand still in shock before complying.

' _He said please, Aria was never that courteous with any of us._ ' he thought while typing into the holo-keyboard, then the Predacon activated his com-link.

"Nemesis, open a Ground-bridge from this location to these coordinates. And then after that, find the location of this Nyreen and prepare another portal. I think its time to end this."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

The entrance to the Sanctuary was littered with the bodies of Terracons as they kept storming the heavily fortified area, which was protected by numerous automated gun and missile turrets, and a powerful force-field covering the large heavy door that would become the second to last line of defence as behind it, several squads of Talons made up of Turian, Asari, Vorcha and human stood ready with their weapons aimed at the door.

Each was quietly hoping that the defences would hold out that little longer, for if all before them failed then they would be last defence between the Predacons and what was left of the civilian population that inhabited the behind them. Inside Nyreen was standing alongside of one of her lieutenants as she kept an eye on the battle raging outside via her holo-tool.

"Sir, our defences have managed to hold the enemy at bay long enough for us to get the evacuation vessels ready for launch. We can begin to ship the civilians off Omega at a moment's notice." the Turian Lieutenant reported, earning a nod from his Commander.

"Very good Talus, but we won't initiate that plan until I have heard back from Aria about the status of her own."

"Yes sir." the soldier said back in return as he looked away with an unsure expression, which did not go unnoticed by the female.

"What is it Talus?"

"It's...it's just that it's been several hours since Aria started for the reactor-core, and we both know that she would have made it by now. So why haven't we heard anything?" the Turian male replied with a slither of fear to his voice, earning calm and focused look from Nyreen.

"Aria will make it, I bet she just has been held up."

Talus nodded in return as the Talon Leader looked him up and down, noticing the weariness on his face.

"How old you?" she asked, earning a surprised look from him.

"Twenty-three sir."

"Believe me when I say that Aria is not the type to let anything get in the way of what she wants, twenty five years ago before you were even born, Omega was under the control of MECH and being used as their main staging grounds during the Reaper war and Aria and myself together with help from the Autobots defeated MECH and reclaimed this station, but that would not have been possible without her leading the way. She is the most stubborn and reckless person I have ever met, but Aria always finds a way to beat the odds….especially when those odds seem unbeatable." Nyreen replied with a slight smile.

"Yes sir." Talus said back in a more calmer tone as he took a breath, but before anything else could be said. The Talon Leader's holo-tool beeped frantically as it's screen showed several flashing red icons on it, earning both Turians attention.

"We have just lost gun turrets three through eight, how is that possible?" the female said, as Talus activated his own holo-tool.

"Nyreen sir, we have a big problem." he said as he showed her his holo-screen, earning a wide eyed stare from Nyreen. For the screen showed camera footage from outside the entrance to the Sanctuary, showing the Terracons firing back from behind cover on their side of the bridge. But on the bridge itself was a large orange and black metallic beast, which was firing fire from it's open jaws and destroying the turrets one after another, before the fire enveloped the camera and cut the feed.

"Activate the next camera across the bridge." Nyreen said as Talus began typing on his holo-interface before another video screen appeared, one that showed the area from behind the enemy line. The footage showed the beast breathing fire down upon the energy field that was protecting the door, slowly draining it of it's power.

"What the hell is that thing?" the Talon Leader asked.

"No idea, all we know is that it has been spotted at numerous locations around the station, destroying all of our forces that it has come across. And yet we can not even hurt it." the Lieutenant stated as Nyreen watched the Beast and the Terracons firing upon the depleting force field.

"There is no way the force field will last long under that bombardment…" she began to say before stopping as both Turians noticed that the enemy force suddenly stopped firing.

"What the…?" Talus said in shock before the green vortex of a space-bridge portal opened up on the bridge as the beast walked backwards, making some room for whatever was about to arrive.

"You said it…." the female Turian replied before three figures could be seen exiting the portal, one of them falling to the floor when pushed by the one behind them, and Nyreen's eyes widened as she recognised the one on the floor as a purple Asari.

"Wait, that's…." Talus said with a sense of dread in his voice while the female just kept her eyes fixated on the screen, when suddenly hers and the rest of the Talon's com-links activated.

"This is Lord Galvatron, I know you are in the Nyreen Kandros, and I also know you and all your Talons can all hear me." the man in silver armour said as he stood over Aria, and though the camera could not show the exact state the Asari was in, Nyreen could tell by the way her body language was that her lover was severally injured.

"You know that you are only delaying the inevitable by continuing to fight back, as I am sure you are well aware that my forces now have control of the entire station….except for this Sanctuary that you are valiantly defending, but it is now over." Galvatron said as he looked up to where the security cameras had been.

"And if you think you can flee this station in one or any of the escape vessels you have docked behind that door, you should know that I have several cruisers in waiting which will destroy any ship that leaves Omega. So I will give you a choice, you can either surrender now and save the lives of everyone behind these doors or you can fight and let them all die."

Nyreen simply looked at the screen, but Talus could tell that she was deep in thought at the options that were held out before her.

"Oh…and if you choose to fight, the first life you will forfeit is that of your Leader…..and lover, Aria T'Loak." the Predacon Leader added as he then equipped his arm-blade and pointed it down at his Asari prisoner.

"Commander, what should we do?" Talus asked as he suddenly saw his usually calm and collected Commander, but now wide eyed and fearful as she found herself conflicted with what had to be done.

"Nyreen sir.." the Turian said, earning the Talon Leader's attention as she looked at him.

"Can we really trust him?"

"I do not know Talus, but I made a promise….. to protect the civilian population of Omega. There is no way we can win this battle which will end with all of us killed, but if we surrender then at least our people will survive to prevail later."

The younger Turian nodded in return, knowing full well that Nyreen was correct while she tapped her com-link.

"All Talon forces, this is Nyreen. Stand down, I repeat stand down."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Gavlatron waited patiently as he stood there on the bridge which was connected to Sanctuary, behind him was Vale who looked a little nervous and at the Con's feet was Aria, on her knees and bound with a biotic clamp attached to her neck. Situated behind the three persons were the rest of the Terracon force, as well as Predaking who had folded it's wings onto it's back and looked around as if waiting for something to happen, growling lowly as it did so.

"I am not sure if Nyreen will listen to you my Lord." Vale said with a nervous tone to his voice, but Galvatron simply smiled as he looked over his shoulder at him.

"You better hope that she does Vale, for that would mean that your information was false and that you have already failed me." the Predacon replied coldly, making the Batarian feel a chill down his spine at his new boss's words.

But suddenly the force field that was protecting Sanctuary's entrance deactivated and the large metallic door began to open as the machinery behind it could be heard, earning the Predacon and his force's attention.

"Stand ready, but do not fire unless I say so." Galvatron stated as he looked ahead and saw the silhouette of a person walking out of the dimly lit tunnel as the door finished raising off the floor. Aria's eyes widened as she recognised the person to be Nyreen, who calmly walked out with her hands open for all to see.

The Con felt a slight smile grow on his face as he watched the Talon Commander who stopped several metres in front of him, her face suddenly changing to one of quiet distress the moment her eyes fell upon the beaten Asari at the Predacon's feet.

"Aria, I am sorry. But this was a fight that we can not win, and I can not sacrifice you or the people of Omega." Nyreen said with a sorrowful tone, earning an equal reaction from the Asari who merely nodded back abet while grimacing slightly as her body ached all over. Nyreen then looked at Galvatron who stood there with a confident expression who seemed to be enjoying this very moment.

"So I hereby surrender to you Galvatron, in the hope of ending any further bloodshed."

The Predacon Lord gave the Turian a thoughtful look before nodding back in return.

"You made the right decision Nyreen…" Galvatron began to say as Nyreen gave a sigh of relief.

"..but…" he added, making both the Talon Leader and Aria suddenly look at him, their eyes widening slowly.

"…I can't allow both of Omega's Leaders to stay alive, or else I risk weakening my resolve. And that is something I will not do." the Con Leader continued, making the Turian equip her fire-arm and aim it at Galvatron.

"Kill her." he said in a calm manner, as Aria suddenly felt time slow down as she looked back at her lover, out in the open and exposed as all the Terracons behind the Predacon aimed their weapons at her. Nyreen looked back at the Asari, their eyes meeting as they simply stared at each other right before the enemies opened fire and riddled the Turian female with bullet holes, spilling her blood all over the floor as Aria screamed, her pain and grief all out in the open for everyone present to see and here, while she watched her lover's body fall to the ground in a bloody heap. The Omega Leader could see Nyreen's lifeless eyes staring back, as silence fell around the Asari as her attention and focus was solely on the Turian.

"Predaking, use your Dragon-breath to destroy the Sanctuary's tunnel." Galvatron commanded, making the dragon leap over him and Aria and land just behind Nyreen's lifeless body. The beast then opened it's mouth as the bright light of it's fire-breath illuminated the dimly lit tunnel, exposing the remaining Talons who were still inside. Predaking then unleashed the fire which enveloped the entire area and incinerated everyone inside, before the damage caused made the tunnel collapse in on it's self and seal the civilians inside.

"That will be a fitting tomb for those that tried to escape our wrath." Galvatron said, while Vale remained quiet. His expression one of fearful shock at what he had just witnessed, but the Predacon Lord ignored this and instead looked down at Aria who was still looking at her lover's corpse while sobbing quietly.

"You will not have to grieve for long Aria, since I will unite you with you dearly departed…." he said with dark smile, gaining the Asari's attention while her grief turned to quiet rage as she stared daggers at him.

"…but you will live long enough to witness the fall of everything you have built here..." he added while narrowing his red eyes at her.

"..and that Aria, is a promise."

 


	24. Chapter 24

On board the Nemesis, that was currently orbiting the Omega station. Jack and Arcee were sitting up against the wall of their cell, the Femme was checking over the bandages of the stump which was all that was left of her spark-mate's arm.

"Well it appears that the medi-gel has done it's job, since your arm has not been bleeding now for a few days." she said while looking at the limb, earning a slight smile from Jack.

"All those times being patched up by Ratchet finally paid off then." he said affectionately earning a smile from Arcee, but he knew full well that she was just trying to keep her mind occupied as there was very little else for that in the cell. The pair had been prisoners of the Predacons for a number of days now and apart from the daily offering of food and water, no one has even come to visit, not even Galvatron himself. So this left them with little to do but think about recent events...especially one of them.

Then as if on command, Arcee's expression changed to one of sadness, and Jack knew what it was exactly as his mirrored hers.

"...I still can not believe Orion is dead, our own son. I keep telling myself that it's a lie but..." Arcee replied while her Bottom lip began to shake as she started to sob, which made the Prime pull her into an embrace with his remaining arm, holding her close as she cried into his shoulder.

"I don't want to believe it either Arcee." Jack replied as he looked up at the ceiling, his mind becoming over run with thoughts.

' _It cannot be true, it simply can't. Not after what I have seen._ ' he thought while turning his attention to the Matrix of Leadership that hung around his neck in it's crystal form.

For a long moment the couple stayed in the embrace, trying to comfort each other over a loss that they could only hope was not true, but the lack of any evidence to the contrary did not help. In fact since they had been captured, the pair had not heard or been told anything from their captors. So not only could they not confirm the status of their son, but also what has become of their friends or the Federation at this point.

Arcee then pulled away slightly so that she could look at Jack, looking into those blue eyes of his which always made her feel better in the past. But just as she was about to speak, the energy field of the cell next to them deactivated.

"What the..." the Femme said as she and Jack looked over to it, but then the door opened and two Terracons walked in while carrying a body between them. Neither the Prime or his Spark-mate could see who it was from their position, but the Terracons then dropped the body in the cell next to them and walked out before reactivating the force field and leaving the Brig. Both Jack and Arcee got to their feet and looked through energy field that kept them trapped but also separate, the pair's eyes widened as they recognised the purple Asari.

"Aria?" Jack exclaimed, earning a painful grunt from the Omega Leader as she tried to get up onto her knees, but could only roll onto her back and face them. Both Prime and Femme looked on in shock at the injuries they could see on their one time ally.

"What the in the hell happened to you?" Jack asked, making the Asari turn her head in their direction which surprised them, as they could see she had been crying ...which was not something you would think Aria could do, considering her reputation over the last several centuries.

"What happened?" Arcee asked as the Asari wiped the tears off her cheeks and tried to compose herself, not wanting to look weak in front of anyone...not enemies or allies.

"The Predacons have seized Omega and...killed Nyreen." she replied, her anger showing on her face with that last part.

"I am so sorry Aria." Jack replied, gaining a supporting nod from the Femme too as they looked back at the Omega Leader.

"...so it's true, they caught the two of you also." she replied with coldness to her voice, not wanting them to pity her. Arcee and the Prime could see this and acted accordingly.

"Yes, the Predacons attacked Earth and destroyed a good deal of New Iacon." Jack replied.

"These Predacons do seem ambitious, attacking the two largest empires in the galaxy and capturing their Leaders." the Asari said.

"They also killed my Sister and her Spark-mate, and...our Son, Orion." Arcee added with a saddened expression, earning a surprised look from Aria who could see that the three of them were all on the same page.

"You have my condolences." she said back, earning appreciative nods from the couple in return before the they sat down and held each other, as the room went quiet for a long moment. All three of the prisoners just looked ahead, Jack and Arcee staying at the wall in front of them through the force field. And Aria stared up at the ceiling, but then her eyes began to wonder before she finally managed to sit up and look at the couple.

"How did things go so shit so fast?" the Asari then asked in a generally confused tone, breaking the silence. But all the Prime and Femme could do was stare back, since they had been asking themselves that very same question...and they were yet to find the answer.

Meanwhile Galvatron stood in what was left of Omega's command center, which looked very much like a bomb had hit it, which seemed to be a running theme for any location that Predaking was unleashed upon. The Predacon Leader then walked over to Lazerback, who was overseeing three Terracons that were trying to access the station's mainframe through what was left of the room's computers.

"And how fares our intel gathering operation?" he asked, earning his lieutenant's attention, as he turned to face his Lord.

"Lord Galvatron, we have managed to download thirty-eight percent of the mainframe so far, Shockblast is overseeing the data transfer from his lab on Cybertron." the other Predacon replied, gaining a nod from Galvatron.

"Good, what about Omega's supplies?"

Lazerback then activated his holo-tool, before gesturing his Leader to watch as data scrolled down his holo-screen.  
"We have cleared out Omega's armoury and fuel refinery, and their are teams currently preparing to extract the spare parts our fleet might need from the station's system."  
Galvatron then noticed an unsure expression on Lazerback's face.

"What is it Commander?"

"Forgive my bluntness Lord Galvatron. But wouldn't it make more sense for us to use Omega as another Predacon outpost?" the lieutenant asked as the Predacon lord looked back at him with an unreadable expression.

"No, it would not Lazerback. For Omega is a high profile location, unlike Cybertron which has become just another dead world in the eyes of the Federation. So we will take what we need from this station and then destroy it, as it will send a message to the rest of the galaxy, of what happens to those who oppose us."

"And what of the civilians we have trapped in the sanctuary?" Lazerback said in return.

"They are of no consequence to us, leave them where they are." Galvatron replied in a cold tone, but the other Predacon simply looked back.

"Is there a problem?" the Con Leader said back as he narrowed his red eyes.

"No my Lord, no problem. I simply wishes to clarify things." Lazerback responded, earning a nod in return.

"Good, carry on." Galvatron replied before turning and walking away to the other side of the command center, leaving Lazerback to return to his duties as he turned his attention to the Terracons next to him, watching as they continued to download files from Omega's computers.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

On the other side of the galaxy, in orbit around the blue planet of Earth. The Normandy was docked with one of the few remaining space-dock platforms that survived the Predacons brutal attack days earlier, and was in the final stage of its repair and re-fit. On board the ship, the atmosphere was almost frantic as the crew worked around the clock to make sure their ship was ready for action.

In the cargo/shuttle-bay Grunt and Smokescreen were overseeing the last of the supplies being brought aboard, while Shen and Nightracer were making final calibrations on the up-graded weapons array. Red-Alert was busy bringing her new medi-bay online, while on the bridge Rodimus and Jetstorm were looking at the plans of their newly upgraded vessel via the holo-interface of the pilot's in the cockpit.

"These upgrades should give us more of an edge over any Autobot ship that the Predacons have under their control." the Commander said as he looked over the holo-image.

"What if we com across the Nemesis again?" Jetstorm asked.

"Well, our shields have been strengthened by fifty percent. And we now have ablative hull armour covering virtually the entire ship so on the occasion that our shields do fail, we can still stay in a fire fight for much longer. And the shield generator was also upgraded and will now recharge the shields even quicker than before, something like an entire thirty seconds faster." Rodimus explained as he pointed to those particular features on the holo-image.

"Alright, that is impressive. And I see our weapons array has been tinkered with, making them ten percent more powerful. But what has my attention is the fact that the engines and thrusters have been upgraded, giving the Normandy more speed and manoeuvrability." the pilot replied as he gestured to the engines.

"I thought you would, since now the ship should handle even more like a fighter. Thats as long as it's pilot can handle it." the Commander said back with a grin, earning shocked look from Jetstorm.

"Commander you wound me." he said back while feigning injury, before smiling back.

"I am more than prepared for it, in fact I welcome it."

Rodimus was about to reply when his com-link beeped, so he tapped it and looked out of the Cockpit's glass canopy towards one of the repair drones that flew past.

"Rodimus here...really, that is excellent news. I will ensure we are ready for the launch, thank you Admiral."

Jetstorm looked up at the Autobot from his seat with a curious expression, while Rodimus deactivated his com-link.

"What's the word Commander?"

"All repairs and the re-fit are finished, we can leave for the Omicron Colony inside the following hour." the Commander replied as he looked back at Jetstorm.

"Finally, I have been sitting here twiddling my thumbs for that last couple of days. Its about time we got back out there." the younger Bot replied, gaining a nod from Rodimus.

"Very true, especially when you consider that with the communications blackout still effecting the entire Federation, we have no idea what is happening right now with the rest of the galaxy, or what the Predacons are currently up to."

"Well I will run one final diagnostic on all systems here then, just to be sure." Jetstorm said back before typing on his holo-interface.

"And I will get the other departments to do the same." the Autobot Commander replied, before the pilot stopped and turned to face him.

"By the way Commander, where's Orion right now?"

"He is in his quarters looking at all the data and Intel our forces managed to get on the Predacons during their assault on Earth." Rodimus said back before turning round and heading back towards the galaxy-map in the aft section of the CIC, leaving Jetstorm to sigh as he looked down to the floor.

"Poor Orion..." he said in a faint voice before turning back to his terminal, as he thought of what had his friend had found out only a few days earlier.

Meanwhile in Orion's quarters, the blue haired Bot was sitting at his computer terminal with Liara.

The pair were looking at separate holo-screens as they went through the intelligence reports that had been gathered about the Predacons during their attack on New Iacon, which wasn't much really. Liara was looking through the intel that had been made of the Predacons and their Terracon troops, which had been made from eye witness reports from civilian and Autobot survivors. But the Asari found herself glancing over to her friend, who had been quiet since they had started over an hour ago.

Now she found this to be troubling her because Orion had never been this quiet in her company before now, especially after Smokescreen had told him exactly what had happened when he had last seen the younger Bot's parents. So as Liara glanced over, she found that the Autobot was just looking at one piece pf intel...the profile on Galvatron. The look Orion had in his eyes was something which made the Asari worry more, as the Darby had a very cold and intense expression on his face.

His eyes were fixated on all aspects of the Predacon Leader's profile, that though had no real information. But what really got his attention was the Con's image that had been created from eye-witness accounts and was as accurate as it could possibly be.

"Orion, are you alright?" Liara asked with a caring tone in her voice, but the Bot did not reply as he kept staring at the screen.

"Orion?"

The young Darby was deep in thought as he found himself fixated on the picture and was staring at Galvatron's red eyes like he was looking at the real deal. He could hear Liara's voice but it was faint compared to the images that flooded his mind, because all he could think about since speaking with Smokescreen was what happened between this Predacon and his parents. He could see it all in his thoughts, his Father and Smokescreen trying to save his Mother, and then Galvatron slicing off the Prime's arm and beating on him. This made Orion's spark burn with anger, and anger which he could barely manage to keep under wraps. But before all he had was a name, but now he had a face to which he could focus his anger upon.

' _I swear I am going to make him pay for what he has done to my family.'_  he thought as he clenched his hand into a tight fist on the table, but then suddenly his attention was quickly ripped away from the screen when he felt a soft warm hand being places upon his own in a caring fashion.

"Orion?" Liara said in a worried tone, as the Bot looked over to see her face which mirrored the way her voice sounded. His eyes widened as he instantly felt his spark begin to calm down and he sighed in return.

"I am sorry Liara, I guess I got lost in my own thoughts." he replied as he turned his chair towards hers and so removed the temptation that was the Predacon's image from view.

"I was looking through the Intel, but I just got stuck on that particular entry." he added in a regretful tone, making the Asari shake her head gently in return.  
"You don't have to apologise Orion, You have every right to be angry..." she started to say before the inter-com activated.

"Dr T'Soni, we have a transmission from Matriarch Benezia for you, do you want it routed to your quarters?" a female crewmen asked, earning an annoyed sigh from the Asari, which did not go unnoticed by Orion who found his earlier anger fading as curiosity took its place.

"That won't be necessary, Liara can take it here." he said back, gaining a surprised expression from his friend.

"Very well, I am routing it to your terminal Orion." the crewmen replied before the inter-com deactivated, leaving both Bot and Asari alone again.

"So, I knew this was coming." she sighed, as Orion stood up.

"Want the room to yourself?" he asked, making Liara shake her head in response.

"You can stay, just keep out of view of the screen so my mother won't know you are there."

The Bot nodded before sitting down on his bed, out of view. The Asari then typed on the keyboard of the holo-interface, which made the Intel reports disappear and replace them with the image of an older looking Asari who looked very similar to Liara. Orion could just see her from his position and you could definitely tell that the pair were related, though at this moment the other Asari had a face like thunder as she looked back at her daughter.

"Mother, it's good to see you." Liara said with a smile, but Orion knew her well enough to tell that she was feigning it and that Benezia wasn't fooled either.

"I would like to say the same Liara, but unfortunately I have received some troubling news..." she replied with a tone so cold, that Orion suddenly felt that the temperature in his room had dropped several degrees.

"...that you are not returning to Thessia, but in fact have joined the Autobots, all to go on some suicidal mission that does not have anything to do with you." she added.

"You are wrong Mother, I owe the Autobots that saved my life and so will help help them any way I can, especially since I have experience with the very ones that attacked Earth only a few days ago...or haven't you heard." Liara said back with a tone tinged with anger, though she was obviously trying to hide it.

"I do not care for the problems of the Autobots, and I will not have my Daughter mixed up in their agenda." Benezia replied, making her Daughter narrow her eyes back at her.

"The Asari are a part of the Federation and the Autobots Mother, so their problems are our problems too. We cannot turn our backs on them, I for one will not."

"Are we really going to have this conversation again Liara, if it had been up to me then our species would never have joined the Federation." the Matriarch said back with definite scorn in her voice, which made Orion curious as he watched Mother and Daughter argue in front of him with only one that knew of his presence.

' _Why does she hate Autobots?_ ' he thought.

"Well none of that matters Mother, because I am staying where i am needed...which is here on board the Normandy. You can't tell me what to do any more, I am not one hundred and twenty-five."

"Yes, you are still but a child..." her Mother said back instantly, making Liara's eyes widen as her anger really did start to come to the surface.

"Well for a child, I have done more than most Asari my age, who are just swinging their hips for the pleasure of sexist pigs."

It was now time for Benezia to stare in wide-eyed amazement at her Daughter's outburst, but she wasn't the only one as Orion's expression mirrored her Mother's.

' _What the?_ ' he thought as he noticed the Matriarch's facial expression soften somewhat in response to Liara.

"Liara you have done many things, more than I did myself at your age. But you will always be my child and I do not want you to end up..." she said before the her daughter cut her off, trying to calm her.

"You need not worry Mother, my friends here will make sure I make it back safely." she said while ever so slightly glancing over to Orion. Benezia though did not look impressed as she shook her head in response.

"Liara, I do not understand how you can put your trust in such people. But if you are to continue with them, then I will not be able to protect you from what will come of it, I am sorry." she said back. Liara though looked down at the holo-keyboard in front of her and sighed.

"Well, I am sorry too Mother." she then replied before looking back at Benezia who too mirrored her Daughter's expression.

"Then all I can say is good luck, I pray you won't need it."

"Thank you, until I see you again Mother." Liara replied before the Matriarch's image disappeared from the screen, replacing it with the Intel reports that were on there before.

The Asari then looked over to Orion, who shook his head and sighed.

"I am sorry Liara, here I thought that the relationship I had with my Parents was dysfunctional."

"You have nothing to apologise for Orion, and I guess every family has its problems." Liara replied, while Orion looked at her with a curious expression.

"Why does your Mother dislike us, I mean the Autobots?"

The Asari gave him a worried look, knowing very well that question was coming after what he had overheard.

"Well I guess that my Mother has always had a disliking towards both Cybertronians and Humans, the Cybertronians for their eons long civil war and for bringing Humans into the Galactic community well before their time. She felt that their very presence could have a destabilising effect on the galaxy. Because something similar had happened with the Vorcha, though not on the level that Benezia feared would happen with Humans." she replied before taking a sip from the glass of water that was sitting on the desk next to her.

"But what really made her hate the Autobots/Human Alliance was when the Reapers invaded the galaxy, or more to the point when they invaded Thessia. I mean I know that Earth was the first world to be attacked and that the population had to endure under the Reapers for the whole war. But when Thessia became a target for the Reapers, it was hit just as hard. It was like the Reapers were making up for the time they spent on Earth. And even though the Asari were the oldest species in the galaxy during the current cycle, we were not very combat efficient compared to either the Autobots or Humans. Even our advanced biotics were no match for the Reapers, so many were slaughtered or harvested by the Reapers and yet the Alliance kept their attention mainly on Earth, and my Mother was livid about that."

Orion just kept quiet as he listened to Liara, who took a breath before continuing.

"What I am about to tell you is something that was not made public to the galactic community, but the Asari were severally weakened by the events of the Reaper war. The population of Thessia exceeded five billion, but now it is around two point five billion. Since we are a proud race, the Matriarch Council managed to keep this information from being found out by the rest of the galaxy, because we did not want to look weak. But when the Alliance made the suggestion to disband the Citadel Council and create the Federation, Benezia strongly dismissed it. Saying that we could only rely on ourselves and that the Autobots and Humans would never put other worlds above their own. The other Matriarchs overruled her though, and so the Asari took their place with everyone else."

"I had no idea things were so bad for the Asari." Orion replied, earning a sad expression from Liara.

"I know, but I have learnt from my experiences working with you and the Autobots that cooperation is the right way going forward for my people, but my Mother is opinionated and stubborn. I wish there was something I could do to make her see different, to see things the way I do."

The Asari then looked to the ground and sighed as she let her feelings show, so Orion got up off the bed and knelt down in front of her before placing his hand on her knee supportively, which made the her look back at him.

"Thank you for listening Orion, you're the only person I feel I could talk to about this." she said back with an appreciative smile, making him smile warmly back at her.

"How could I not, after everything you have done for me recently. Had it not been for your words and our melding of minds, I would not have found out what my Dad really thought about me. Because of that Liara, I promise that if you ever need me then I will be there for you, no matter what." the Bot said back as he looked into her blue eyes with his own, making her smile grow wider.

"I know you will Orion, because of our meld which I have to admit was my first attempt at such a thing…" she started to say, only to be cut off by the blue haired man.

"…it was a first for me too, you know."

".. well I feel like I know you better than anyone." she said back, making the Bot almost blush in return which she found to be very cute.

"I know what you mean." he replied as they looked into each others eyes and without even realising it, slowly leaned closer to each other. But just as their lips were about to connect as they felt each other's breath on the others skin, the ship's inter-com activated.

"All hands, this is Commander Rodimus. We will be departing for Omicron in five minutes, so report to your stations."

This snapped the pair out of it as they leaned back, though both Bot and Asari looked disappointed in return.

"Great timing." Orion said, earning a nod from Liara.

"Indeed, well lets get to the CIC." she said back as they both got to their feet.

"Ladies first." the young Darby replied, gaining a coy smile from the Asari before the pair then left his room, plunging it into darkness as the door closed behind them.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

The CIC was a buzz with activity as the crew prepared for the launch, Rodimus was standing on the raised platform with the galaxy map in front of him which gave a good view of the rest of the crew as they worked. The elevator doors then opened and Orion and Liara entered the area, gaining the Commander's attention as he turned to face them.

"Orion, I want you to head down to the shuttle-bay and choose pick your team." he said, gaining a nod from the Bot.

"Yes sir."

"Once we are close enough to the planet, you and your team will disembark on one of the two shuttles we have and land on Omicron. I will relay the rest of your orders once you are away. Good luck." Rodimus said back before turning back to the galaxy map.

"Right away." Orion replied and then looked over to Liara.

"Lets go, your on my team Liara." he added with a smile.

"Right behind you." she said back, mirroring his expression as the pair then re-entered the elevator, the doors closing as Rodimus tapped his com-link.

"All systems are a go, Jetstorm take us out."

Meanwhile in the cockpit, the pilot was working on the holo-interface in front of him, quickly tapping various buttons like a fast typing temp.

"Yes sir. Disengaging docking clamps and firing thrusters."

The Normandy then began to pull away from the space dock, who's grav-lock arms folded away in response to the Autobot ship which turned around to face the open space ahead.

"We have cleared the space-dock, firing sub-light engines….and we are on our way." Jetstorm added as the Normandy was then thrust forward, leaving the space-dock and Earth behind as it began to move through the solar system.

"Jet-Storm, fire up the space-bridge generator and plotca course to Omicron. And I want the 'cloak' activated the second we are through." Rodimus then said, earning a salute from his pilot who typed away on the holo-keyboard.

"Space-bridge spinning up and coordinates locked, activating space-bridge in four, three, two, one..." the pilot replied before a green glowing portal opened up in front of the Normandy, with the Autobot ship flying into it a moment later, leaving the Sol system behind.

Meanwhile at that exact second on the other side of the galaxy, a portal opened and the Normandy exited it at speed before a shimmer crossed it's hull which made it fade away until the Autobot ship completely disappeared.

"we are in the Omicron system sir and the cloak is operating under normal parameters." Jetstorm stated as the Commander joined him in the cockpit, standing behind his chair and looking out at the stars via the glass canopy in front of them.

"Run a sensor scan, I want to know what's out here."

"Running it now." Jetstorm replied as he looked at the smaller holo-screen that appeared to his right, noticing several red blips appearing around the target planet.

"Sir, I have an number of ships orbiting the Colony. Their silhouettes identify as Autobot, but their IFF reads Predacon."

"So, the Predacons are the ones responsible for shutting down the network. But then how did they find out about it, there is only a select group of higher-ups who even knew what Omicron's true purpose was." the Commander said, earning a curious look from his pilot.

"Well looks like the secret is out, want me to take us closer?"

"No, we will launch the shuttle from where we are." Rodimus replied before tapping his com-link.

"Rodimus to Orion, come in..."

Meanwhile down in the shuttle-bay, Orion, Liara, Shen and Nightracer were sitting in one of the two shuttles, they were all wearing their respective armour as the blue haired Bot began pre flight.

"Rodimus to Orion, come in." the Commander's voice said over the now active inter-com, which made Orion tap his own com-link.

"Orion here sir."

"What's your sit-rep?"

"My team and I are ready to leave on your word sir." the Bot said as the engines began to hum as all ship's systems glowed green.

"We are as ready as we will ever be"

"In that case, your mission objectives are to determine what condition the colony is in and rescue any Autobot or civilian you find. But your primary objective is to regain control of the communications network or if that is not possible...destroy it."

Everyone on the shuttle looked at each other with concerned expression.

"Very well, we will contact you in four hours. Shuttle one out." Orion then said before turning off the transmission, he then turned his attention to his holo-interface and pressed a number of buttons in sequence that suddenly sealed the shuttle's hatch.

"Shuttle-bay decompressing and powering engines." the Bot then stated as Liara watched him, a small smile appeared on her face at how professional he looked as he worked, which did not go unnoticed by Nightracer who was sitting beside Shen.

"Here we go." Orion then said as he used the thrusters to lift the shuttle off of the floor. Then the bay door opened, which released the last gas of oxygen as it folded out like a ramp, less than a second later the shuttle shot out into open space, leaving the Normandy behind as it flew towards the planet.

"Stealth mode engaged, no sign that we have been detected." the Bot stated, gaining a curious look from Shen.

"Wait, the shuttle has a stealth mode?"

"Yes, but only the kind that hides our engine emissions from sensor scans. The enemy could still see us if they looked out of a window. The Normandy though has had an upgraded stealth device installed, it is called a 'cloaking device' and it works by projecting a force field around the ship which selectively bends light around around it and makes it invisible to anyone looking from the outside. " Orion replied, gaining a nod from Shen.

"I see, sounds impressive."

"Well it only works as long as we don't get too close to another ship. The device was built using calculations by the Autobot Mirage who had built a smaller verison for use by people, but he had always wanted to make one that could work on a ship."

"I see." the Turian said back as Orion looked over to the Asari sitting beside him.

"Liara, could you run a scan of the planet? We need to see if we can pick up any Autobot beacons."

"Of course." she replied with a smile before turning her attention to the holo-interface before her, typing in commands before a map appeared, showing a single Autobot symbol.

"I have one, it is a distance away from the colony in what looks like an abandoned facility, or at least thats what the map says."

"Okay, then I will land use two miles away on the side that is furthest from the colony. Since that is obviously where the Predacons are currently, I just hope whoever it is can tell us what the hell happened here." Orion replied, earning a nod from the others as he then made the shuttle descend into the planet's atmosphere.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

It was quiet in the abandoned barracks as Ser-Ket lied on the bed. She was using a survival blanket from her backpack to cover herself with, not that she felt cold. Far from it since her spark felt warm as she remembered the events of the previous night, when Ser-Ket and Quickstrike spent the night together. For the Femme had not experienced anything like it in her life, the physical intimacy was almost overwhelming to her. But not as much as the emotional connection she had made with the Autobot, and she had come to realise as she lay there on the bed that she did not ever want to lose it or him.

But suddenly the Femme was brought out of her thoughts as Quickstrike walked back into the room, but stopped short of the bed as his eyes fell upon her lying there.

"Yes?" Ser-Ket asked coyly while the Autobot looked at her before sighing, blushing as he smiled back at her.

"Sorry." he said back in an almost shy-like way, earning a smile that could melt his spark from the Femme.

"Don't be." She replied, enjoying the sight of him looking her up and down and then going all shy about it.

"Now come here." she added, gesturing to him to get closer with her finger. And the Bot complied with a smile as he walked up to the side of the bed and sat beside her, before leaning in close as she did the same until their lips met in a tender and loving kiss that lasted a long moment. Then they pulled back enough to look into each others eyes.

"By the Allspark, your eyes are beautiful." Quickstrike said, making it the Femme's turn to blush.

"Thank you, so are yours." she replied before looking toward the doorway he had come from.

"So did you find anything?"

"No, I could of sworn that was a ship I heard in the distance. But there hasn't been anything since so I guess it was false alarm, but I think we should probably make a move anyway. Before some Predacon patrol decides to check this place out." the Bot replied, gaining a nod from Ser-Ket in return.

"Yeah, but where do we go now. The escape shuttle that is now nothing more than a burnt wreck was the last means of escape from this planet, but now we are stranded." she said back before looking down at the blanket covering her, which made Quickstrike cup her face with his hand and gently lift it back up level with his eyes.

"At least we are together." he said in return, words which warmed the Femme's spark as she smiled back at him and stroked his hand with her own.

"Yes we are."

"Besides, something will come up. We just have to make sure we are ready for when it happens, and that means staying one step ahead of the Predacons." Quickstrike replied before pulling away and standing up.

"So lets get moving." he said as he looked down at her lovingly, earning a nod from Ser-Ket.

"Let me just get dressed then." she replied as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, the blanket falling to the ground and revealing her completely naked body to the Bot, who smiled before turning away.

"Why are you looking away?" the Femme then asked in a confused tone as she started to dress herself in her armour, earning a wide-eyed expression from Quickstrike who looked like he had just been caught stealing.

"Well…, you're getting…" he started to stammer, making the Femme chuckle before looking back with her alluring eyes.

"I like it when you look at me like that." she said back in a coy tone, which relaxed the Bot as he turned back round and smiled.

"Okay then." he replied, but then almost suddenly the Predacon turned her back to him, making the Autobot's mouth almost hit the floor in surprise.

"But you said…" he started to say back before the Femme smiled and cut him off.

"I need your help getting my armour back on." she said back with a mischievous smirk before looking down at the armour lying on the floor between them.

"Oh…okay." Quickstrike replied as he bent down and picked up the piece of armour.

"Where do you want it?" he asked coyly.

A few minutes later, the Femme like her lover was back in her armour and ready to leave as she had just finished packing her survival back pack. Quickstrike was keeping watch by the doorway, hoping that no trouble would find them.

"So where do we go now?" Ser-Ket asked as she picked up the bag and slung it over her back, gaining the Bot's attention as he walked back up to her.

"We just head further away from the city for the time being I guess." he replied before the Femme's face suddenly became tense.

"Ser-Ket?"

The Predacon then raised her head slightly and sniffed the air, earning a curious but worried look from the Bot.

"Ser-Ket, what is it?"

"There are others approaching our location, I can smell them." she replied with a hint of disgust in her voice for the ability she had just shown Quickstrike, but he did not bat an eye at it.

"How close?" he asked as they looked at each other.

"Close enough." a familiar voice suddenly said, making the pair look around to see a blue haired man standing in the doorway, his rifle pointing at them. But almost immediately, both Quickstrike and this new guy's eyes widened as they looked at each other.

"Quickstrike."

"Orion."

A moment which seemed to last too long past between them before both Bots smiled as they walked over to each other.

"Hey." they exclaimed in unison as they pulled each other into a brotherly hug, then pulled away as Orion looked out of the door,

"Guys in here, its Quickstrike." he exclaimed happily, a similar expression adjourned the face of his cousin.

"It's been a while." her said, earning a nod from his cousin as both Shen and Nightracer walked in and smiled the moment their eyes fell upon the Autobot.

"Hey guys." he said.

"Are you a sight for sore eyes pal." Shen said as both he and the Femme greeted him. Meanwhile Ser-Ket looked on in a state of confused amazement at what was transpiring before her, but Orion noticed the Femme.

"Quickstrike, who's this?" he asked, gaining his cousin's attention as he looked back and smiled at her.

"This is Ser-Ket, she saved my life." he said with a thankful and loving tone, earning a nod from her as Orion smiled back while he looked her up and down. But his smile faded when his eyes fell upon a familiar looking insignia, which made him instinctively re-equip his weapon and aim it at her.

"She's a Predacon!" he exclaimed with an angry tone, earning shocked looks from Shen and Nightracer while gaining looks of horror from Quickstrike and Ser-Ket, as the happy reunion suddenly became sour as the newly arrived Autobots all turned their weapons on the Predacon.

 


	25. Chapter 25

"Orion, what are you doing?" Quickstrike asked in a confused and slightly panicked tone as everyone else had their weapons aimed directly at Ser-Ket, who stood there in complete shock at what was transpiring.

"Lower the weapon." the Bot continued, making his cousin shake his head in return.

"No, I will not." he said back in a cold and angry tone, as Quickstrike sidestepped between both Femme and Bot, covering her from the weapon and earning a confused look from Orion.

"What are you doing?"

"I am not going to let you hurt her." the blonde haired Bot replied.

"But she is a Predacon. If you haven't noticed they have made it their goal to kill every Autobot they can find and defeat the Federation." Orion said back as his anger over-ruled his confusion, while Shen and Nightracer remained quiet. The pair were both confused by the entire event.

"Oh believe me, I know what the Predacons are capable of." Quickstrike replied as he remembered his ordeal, but the younger Darby wasn't convinced.

"Do you? Do you even know what they did to New Iacon?"

This made both Quickstrike and Ser-Ket's eyes widen as hey heard this, which the others all took notice too.

"You don't do you?" Shen said in return.

"What happened? I mean all we know is that the Predacons attacked the colony to gain control of the communication network, but..." the blonde Bot said back, which then made Orion look unsure as he remembered his cousin's parents.

"The Predacons pretty much levelled over half of the city, murdering thousands of people. They took my parents prisoner and also... your..." he began to say, earning a look of growing despair on Quickstrike's face as he started to put two and two together.

"My parents...their okay right?"

Orion looked at him with a mirrored expression, one that was shared by Shen and Nightracer.

"I am sorry Quickstrike, I am so sorry."

These words suddenly collapsed the blonde Bot's world as grief took over, making him fall to his knees and shake as tears began to well up in his eyes.

"Both of them?" he asked in an almost pleading like tone as he looked up at his cousin, who shook his head in return gently.

"Your Mother's alive, though she is in a coma. But your Father ...he was killed during the initial attack."

Quickstrike did not know where to look as he felt like the whole world had faded to darkness around him, making the Bot feel all alone as he realised what had just happened. Ser-Ket saw this and felt her spark ache at what had just befallen her lover, she wanted to reach out and wrap her arms around him. To show him that he wasn't alone, but she dared not move with the way Orion kept his gun trained on her. He kept switching his attention between her and his cousin, for she knew exactly what his intentions were. But the same could not be said of his companions, who shared in her lover's grief but looked unsure when it came to her and her loyalties.

But the Femme pushed all doubts aside as she kept her attention squarely on Quickstrike as he suddenly got back to his feet, but kept his back to her as he looked at Orion.

"My Dad..., will my Mum ever wake up?" he asked, his voice still straining with the grief he was feeling at this moment.

"Yes, her Doctor told me she would be fine and that she will wake up." the Bot replied, earning what looked like a sigh from Quickstrike as if some of the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders.

"Do you know how my Dad...?" he then said, but was unable to finish the sentence.

"No, I am afraid not. But your 'friend' here might know." Orion replied, staring daggers at Ser-Ket. Quickstrike looked back at her and she could tell in his expression that he was conflicted, but he shook his head in return.

"No, Ser-Ket could not have known. She has been with me this whole time. If she had known anything about that, then she would have told me." the Bot replied, earning a confused and angry look from Orion as Ser-Ket remained on edge.

"I didn't know Earth had been attacked." she said back with a tinge of fear in her voice.

"Bullshit, she is lying. You can see it all over her face." the young Darby snapped, as his cousin looked back at his lover and recognising the fear in her eyes. It would be easy for one who's anger was clouding their senses to see it as guilt, but Quickstrike had come to know the Predacon female over a short span of time. Hell, she had turned her back on her entire race to save him and they had fought together side by side to survive. And he has come to care deeply for her, so he wasn't about to turn on her now.

"No, I believe her Orion. I wouldn't expect you to understand, but we have been through alot together and she saved my life, and we..."

Everyone, Orion included then looked upon the pair with a mirrored dumbfounded expression as they heard that last part.

"You have what?" Orion spat back as he continued to let his hate dictate his actions. To answer this question, Quickstrike took a step back so that he was still standing between his cousin and Ser-Ket, but was still almost side by side as he took her hand in his own. This made the others eyes widen in shock as they saw this display from the pair, which to Orion looked completely wrong.

"You and her!..." he spat back while Shen and Nightracer remained quiet, unsure of what to do.

"...Your sleeping with the enemy."

"Orion..." Quickstrike tried to say back, but his cousin then cut him off.

"No, your simply to loved up to see the truth. That she is just Manipulating you for her own ends, whatever they may be. But I still want to know where my parents are and I will find out from her, one way of another." Orion spat as he took a step forward, still training his weapon on the Bot. But suddenly Quickstrike rushed forward and grabbed the weapon, disarming Orion before forcing him to the ground with a CQC move. Everybody watched in wide-eyed disbelief as he stood over his cousin and dropped the weapon on the floor behind him.

"I am not going to let you or anyone else hurt Ser-Ket." he said with a defiant tone as he looked down at the young Darby.

"I am really sorry Orion, but at least there is a chance for you to be reunited with 'both' of your parents." he added with a touch of sadness and remorse at what he had to say. But Orion simply glared at him in return, as he clenched his fists.

"You pick a Predacon over your own family, how dare you!" he exclaimed as he threw himself at his cousin with his fists ready to strike, earning a shocked expression from Quickstrike who took a defensive stance but as they both readied themselves for a fight, suddenly a biotic field appeared between them and then pushed each other away.

"That's enough!" came an angry voice, making everyone look to the doorway to see an Asari who had her hand outstretched and glowing with a blue hue.

"Liara!" both Shen and Nightracer said in unison while Orion steadied himself and looked over at the blue Woman.

"By the goddess, what is going on here?" she asked in a disbelieving tone as she looked around the room, recognising Quickstrike from her meld with Orion, but not the female.

"Quickstrike has turned on us with this Predacon wretch." Orion spat as he equipped his pistol and readied it, earning a scowl from Quickstrike as he prepared himself for another attack.

"I don't want to fight you Orion."

"Back off both of you." Liara said back as she walked between both Bots.

"Liara, where were you?" Nightracer asked in return, gaining the Asari's attention as she turned to face the Femme.

"I was scouting one of the other buildings, when I heard a lot of shouting and then raced over here to find this." she replied while gesturing to the two Bots.

"Liara, we can't trust this Predacon. We will never complete or mission if she is allowed to live." Orion said, his tone still laced with anger, earning a regretful look from Quickstrike that Liara noticed while looking back at them and that was when an idea hit her.

"I know how to find out where her loyalties lie." the Asari said before looking over to the Predacon.

"What's your name?" she asked in a calm and un-judging way.

"Ser-Ket." the Femme replied while Liara took a step closer to her, earning an unsure expression from Quickstrike who stayed between them.

"I am not going to hurt her Quickstrike, I am just going to meld our minds. And I will know if Ser-Ket can be trusted."

"No offence, but I don't know you lady. And..." he began to say back before he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over at Ser-Ket.

"It's okay Quickstrike, I'll do this if it was they need to accept me and us."

The blonde Bot felt his defence soften as he looked into her eyes, before simply nodding and standing aside, allowing Liara to walk up to the Predacon.

"It's alright Quickstrike, you can trust Liara." Shen said, earning a nod from Nightracer, though Orion remained quiet as he merely observed what was happening in front of him.

"I want you to stay calm, close your eyes and lean your head towards mine." Liara then said, gaining a nod from Ser-Ket who then did just that. The Asari then took a deep breath and looked directly at the Femme before closing her eyes.

"Embrace eternity." she said before opening her eyes again to reveal them to be pure black while everything around the pair melted away, with the memories of both women flowing over them.

The link only lasted a few moments before Liara then turned away, closing her eyes as she did so. Ser-Ket opened hers and looked at the Asari in surprise as her eyes went back to normal.

"She is telling the truth." Liara said, earning a look for vindication from Quickstrike while Orion's expression was still one of uncertainty.

"She is no friend to the other Predacons, and wants to help us in any way she can." the Asari continued while Shen and Nightracer both looked relieved, but then she looked back to Ser-Ket who still looked surprised.

"What is it?"

"While you were looking at my memories and thoughts, I could see yours." the Femme replied, earning a nod from Liara.

"Yes, the joining of minds is a two way conduit."

"But I saw that you knew both Shockblast and Six-Shot..." Ser-Ket replied. Now it was the Asari's turn to look surprised as the Predacon continued.  
"...and you were also in a relationship with one of them before you encountered Galvatron."

"That's right, we didn't know who he was before releasing him." Liara said back while everyone else just watched the pair.

"Galvatron told us that he and your friends were Predacons like us but he lied to us, I am so sorry." Ser-Ket said back with a knowing look, earning a nod from the Asari.

"Thank you, but I have come to terms with what happened then, abet with some help."

"I know..." the Femme replied as she glanced over to Orion who was still staring daggers at her, though the tone had softened a little.

"Indeed, as I also know how much Quickstrike means to you." Liara said back with a knowing smile as both Shen and Nightracer walked over to the blonde Autobot, happy relief written over their faces.

"Well I am glad we have got all this straightened out, so we can get on with the mission." the Femme said, earning a nod from the Turian.

"Exactly, well its a good job Liara got here when she did and used her 'Vulcan Mind Meld'."

This earned a curious look from Nightracer and an eye roll from Quickstrike.

"Shen, you really should stop watching Star Trek. I think it is messing with your perception of reality." he replied with a chuckle, making his friend stare at him.

"We'll see who has the last laugh when we finally come across some Klingons, but either way. I feel our chances of succeeding in this mission have gone up, what with a Predacon aiding us that is."

"That's former-Predacon..." the blonde Bot replied, earning a smile from Ser-Ket, who looked back with Liara.

"..., perhaps we may even be able to convince the other Predacons to turn away from Galvatron, considering what has been discovered during your melding." he added as the women joined them, though Ser-Ket shook her head with a regretful expression in return.

"Unfortunately the others will not listen to us, and they certainly won't take the word of one who betrayed them."

"None of this matters if we can't work as a team..." Nightracer said as she glanced back to Orion who suddenly felt like an outsider, as Quickstrike took notice of this and stepped toward his unsure cousin.

"Orion, I have never given you reason to distrust me in the past right? So if I say that you can trust Ser-Ket, then that should be enough...right?"

The Autobot-Spectre looked deep in thought for a second before looking over to Liara.

"Ser-Ket can be trusted Orion, believe us...believe me." she said back, earning a reluctant nod from the Darby.

"Okay Liara, if you say so." he replied though deep down he knew he couldn't trust this Ser-Ket, simply for the fact that she was a Predacon. And he sensed that Liara knew this of him as well, since they melded back on Earth. But if saying so meant that the others were less confrontational with him, then so be it.

"Tell me Ser-Ket, what is the situation with the colony's civilians?" Orion then asked, turning his attention to the Predacon.

"There were some casualties during the main assault to capture the colony, but most of the population are under house arrest so they won't get in the way. The Predacons main objective was the Tower, which holds the Autobots Communications Network Hub." Ser-Ket replied, gaining a knowing look from Nightracer.

"That explains the comms blackout that's effected the entire Autobot fleet, and how their attack on Earth was executed so efficiently." the Femme said back before Orion activated his holo-tool, revealing a holo-image of the tower and complex.

"Right, so we need to regain control of the Hub, we can call in our forces to liberate the rest of the colony." Orion added, earning nods from the rest of his team as they looked at the image.

"This is the security layout for the complex, as it was when it had been built by the Autobots. So my question Ser-Ket is...what has the Predacons changed since they took control?" he asked, though while he tried to hide it, for Quickstrike's sake. But there was still a trace of an untrusting tone to his voice, but while this was ever so noticeable. No one decided to pick up on it, as Ser-Ket looked at the image closely.

"My brethren did not make any changes to any particular areas of the complex, not to my knowledge but we should be prepared for any...just in case."

"So how are we going to go about this, I mean you say 'gain control' of the Hub. But with the fact that there are only a few if us, I don't think this is possible." Shen asked with an unsure expression, which earned a knowing look from Orion.

"Shen when I said 'gain control', I meant of the system...not the complex. We just need to take control away from the Predacons, and back to the Autobots."

"So we switch the system back over to the good guys, and then destroy the Tower." Nightracer said back, earning a nod from the younger Darby.

"Exactly."

"Okay, now that's a plan I can get behind." the Turian replied, gaining knowing smiles from everyone around him.

"Oh can you now, well that's good to know." Nightracer said back before turning her attention to Quickstrike who was standing next to Ser-Ket, holding her hand supportively.

"So how do we switch the system control back to Autobot, and then destroy the tower?"

Before the blonde Bot could reply, Liara had looked at the holo-image and was now connecting her holo-tool to Orion's wirelessly, so that she could study it further.

"The main control room is where the Hub is generally accessed." she said as she zoomed the image to reveal the room to everyone.

"But that room is not a viable target since it will be heavily defended." Ser-Ket stated in return, gaining a smile from the Asari who then zoomed into another area of the complex at the edge of the city.

"That is true, but there is a secondary access terminal in the sub-communications room in the eastern look-out complex. Which by my reckoning should not be as well defended."

"That is correct..." the Predacon replied with an unsure expression as she looked back at Liara, who knew why.

"Liara, Liara T'Soni." she said back with a smile while holding out her hand to Ser-Ket, who then took it in her own and shook it.

"Thank you...Liara, and as you have pointed out. The area would be defended by only a handful of Terracons at most since most Predacon activity is at the heart of the colony, so there should be no problem to get access to it. In fact while there, it would also be a good opportunity to download any Intel from the Predacons database, I would be able to do that for you." the Femme added, earning a smile from Quickstrike and the others, though Orion refrained from doing so.

"Okay... now to destroy the Tower and complex, I believe that overloading it's geo-thermal reactor would be the most sufficent way of accomplishing this."he said while highlighting the reactor on the complex's holo-image, which earned a nod from his cousin.

"Yeah, that should do it. And it would only destroy the complex, leaving the city around it completely unharmed, since it was designed that way to begin with. And we can do that from accessing it via the tertiary reactor-obersvation port which is in the same complex, on the lowest sub-level. There are five ROP which are located along the perimeter of Omicron City and they all connect directly with the main reactor at the center of the colony." the Bot said as Orion changed the image to reveal the underside of the colony and the geo-thermal reactor.

"But if we take out one, shouldn't the others be able to keep the reactor stable?" Nightracer asked.

"Yes, normally that would be the case. But we can ensure that doesn't happen by making the system run a diagnostic subroutine which would fool the system when the overload arises, so it would not be able to subdue it." Quickstrike replied, earning content looks from everyone before Shen spoke up.

"Right so I guess it would be time to pick the teams." the Turian said, with Orion nodding in return as he expanded the holo-image to show the area around the complex.

"Right, Under the cover of darkness, we will proceed from this area and it will also act as our rendezvous." he said as a small building upon a hill on the eastern approach to the city was highlighted.

"Shen you will be holding this area for us, as it is a perfect sniping position that gives you an excellent view of the complex that we will be hitting, and the building that is there is listed as abandoned so we can use that for cover if we find ourselves under fire."

The Bot then typed some instructions into his holo-tool as two arrows, one red and one green then appeared on the map and moved towards their two objectives.

"Nightracer, you will be in command of Bravo team which will consist of yourself, Liara and...Ser-Ket. You will be heading for the terminal." Orion added, earning nods from The female members of the team.

"Alpha team will consist of myself and Quickstrike, our objective will be the geo-thermal reactor. We will sabotage it and plant explosives to ensure that no one can regain control of the system. Once done, we will rendezvous with Shen and make our way back to the shuttle." Orion finished before deactivating the holo-image.

"Any questions?"

Everyone shook there head before Ser-Ket and Quickstrike looked at each other, earning a uncomfortable feeling in Orion's spark as he tried to ignore it.

"Alright, we will head off once I have relayed our mission to Rodimus."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

On the bridge of the Achilles, Rip-Claw sat in the Captain's chair and looked out of the large canopy ahead of her at the view, which was that of the Tower. Which was what had given the Predacons such an advantage over the Autobots at this time. Now it had only been several hours since her Sister had been reported killed by the Predacon Beast called Skystalker, which had been confirmed by Ser-Ket's tracking beacon shutting down, and that would only have happened once her life-signs had been terminated. The Predacon knew this because she had secretly taken a scan of her own body and had found the very same beacon nestled near her spark, in fact it was connected to it.

So if she had tried to remove or deactivate it, then that would kill her as well. This had been troubling the Predacon since hearing about the devices from Lord Galvatron himself, but why did he commission such things. Did he not trust his brothers and Sisters, or was it an idea from Shockblast who seemed very closed off and distant to both herself and the rest of the Predacons. But as these thoughts played out in Rip-Claw's mind, one such thought that did not however was of her Sister. Which one would think would, but Ser-Ket was dead to the Femme.

For she had betrayed her brethren and chosen to side herself with their enemies, which was something that the Predacon could not understand or forgive. But the Femme's thoughts were interrupted by a Terracon who was Manning a terminal near her.  
"Commander Rip-Claw, I thought you would like to know that the motion sensors we have planted on the eastern side of the city have picked up movement." he said, gaining a thoughtful expression from the Predacon.

"It may be nothing more than some of the planet's indigenous life-forms, but dispatch some stalkers to the area to check it out, just to be on the safe side." she said, gaining a nod from the soldier, who then turned back to his terminal and carried out her orders.

Several minutes later, on the grassy plains that made up the approach to the eastern side of the city and the complex there in. The Autobot teams moved stealthily towards the outer wall of the complex, their very movements hidden under the cover of darkness that had blanketed the sky in the very early hours of the morning. They had left Shen up on the hill, who was now watching their every move through the scope of his sniper-rifle.

Not much had been said between any of them as they walked along with their weapons ready, just on the off chance of an attack by the enemy, though according to Ser-Ket should not have been even aware of their presence. But Orion was still not sure of the Predacon, despite her having the backing of the rest of the team and his cousin, for the young Man simply did not trust her to not lead them into a trap. As they moved suddenly a whisper like sound was heard in the air before his and the others com-links activated.

"Guys, Shen here. I just took out a Terracon that was bearing down on your position." the Turian warned, making the group stop and look around with tight grips on their weapons.

"I only just spotted one before killing it, though it moved with a very different posture than your standard soldier, and I bet there is more than one." Shen continued, earning a wide-eyed expression from Ser-Ket.

"Stalkers!" she exclaimed in a quiet yet alert tone, making Quickstrike shake his head in response.

"Shit, not those things again." he said as his cousin looked over to them curiously.

"What are Stal..." he started to say before he was suddenly tackled to the ground, but before anyone else could do anything, they too came under attack as the Stalkers attacked the group, earning whisper-like gunfire from them as they fired their silenced weapons. Quickstrike immediately turned to his right and fired at a pair of red-lit optics which were flying through the air at him, pummelling the silhouette of a figure with a couple hundred rounds, making it fall to the ground.

"Not this time." he said back, earning a smile from Ser-Ket who had switched to her holo-blades and thrust them up into the air, just before impaling the blackened form of a Stalker that was midway through pouncing at her.

' _He is a fast learner._ ' she thought as Liara stopped another in mid-air with her biotics before slamming it into the ground, gaining a bone crushing sound as it hit the ground. Quickstrike meanwhile has turned his attention to Nightracer who had Managed to dodge her Stalker's initial attack by rolling out of the way. She then joined the Bot by firing simultaneously into the enemy, ripping it apart with bullets.

Ser-Ket though looked behind her to see Orion wrestling with his Stalker, which was snapping it's jaws at his face with drool dripping down upon the Bot. Without a second thought, the Femme moved over to him and with one swipe of her holo-blade, sliced off the demented Terracon's head which made the body go limp so the Autobot could simply throw it off him.

"What the hell are those things?" Nightracer asked as she looked down at the corpse of the one that attacked her, covered in blood-like liquid. But the Predacon ignored her to offer her hand to Orion who looked up at her with a surprised expression.

"Are you alright?" she asked as the young Darby looked back at her, and then her hand before finally grasping it, allowing the Femme to help him to his feet.

"I am...thank you." he answered with an unsure tone, gaining an honest slight smile from Ser-Ket as she nodded back. This made both Quickstrike and Liara smile as they saw what looked like the first signs of the Bot's acceptance of Ser-Ket's allegiance to their cause.

"These are modified Terracons renamed Stalkers." she then said, turning her attention to the rest of the group as they looked to her for an explanation.

"We Predacons have the ability to tap into our beast-like nature, which changes our forms somewhat while also granting us increased strength, speed and ferocity."

"Think of it as the Predacons way of hulking out." Quickstrike added, earning a sigh from Shen over the shared com-link.

"Really have to stop reading comics Quickstrike."

"But these Stalkers have been modified to stay in their beast mode indefinitely, making them simply mindless beasts, completely focused on hunting down their prey and ripping it apart." Ser-Ket continued, choosing to ignore the Turian's remark.

"Well hopefully we Managed to take them down before our presence was recorded." Liara said with an uncertain tone, gaining a nod from the Predacon.

"I think we did, it looks like the Stalkers were as surprised to see us, as we with them. They usually have a better approach that that."

"Thanks for the advance warning Shen." Quickstrike then said to the Turian with a chuckle.

"So that Sniper rifle isn't just for show then." he added, making the young Vakarian sigh in return.

"You know, I could shoot some of those blonde locks off your head if you need further proof of my skill with this thing."

"Okay guys that's enough." Orion then said with a commanding tone, gaining everyone's attention.

"We are close to the point where our teams split up, so keep the chatter to a minimum. And Shen, keep an eye on our six. Now lets move." he added before the team all nodded, and then carried on towards the city.

 


	26. Chapter 26

The group had just made it to their split-up location as the first of the morning light could be seen in the east, which has begun to make the night sky retreat over to the west. Orion looked at the time on his holo-tool, which stated four fifty AM local time.

' _Sunrise is in another hour, so we have plenty of time to infiltrate the complex before we lose the cover of dark completely._ ' he thought while turning his attention to the others.

"Okay, this is where Alpha and Bravo part ways. We all know our targets and what's expected of us all."

"So I will see you when this is done." Ser-Ket said as she turned her attention to Quickstrike, who smiled back at her.

"I'll be back before you know it, just be sure to watch your back because once your former comrades realise your not dead, they will be gunning for you even more." he said back as he placed a hand on her shoulder affectionately, to which she placed her own over it.

"I will and the same goes for you." she replied before kissing his cheek, which made the blonde Bot blush in return. Meanwhile Liara stood in front of Orion and gave him a concerned look.

"Liara, what's wrong?" he asked in return.

"I see you didn't bring it with you." the Asari said back, earning a knowing look from the Bot who simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah...we were in a rush to prepare for the mission, and I guess I just left it behind in my quarters." he replied with a slightly sheepish tone.

"Orion if you had the Star-Saber with you, then I don't believe you would have let that Stalker get as close as it did." Liara said with a slight shake of her head.

"And the fact that no one other than myself knows that you brought it on board. Why have you not told anyone...especially Rodimus?" she added, which made Orion turn them both away from the others who were still talking amongst themselves.

"...Because I am still getting used to the idea that I can even use it, and I don't want to go round giving anyone any false hope. Since that is what will happen when everyone starts seeing me in action with the legendary Star-Saber."

Liara looked the young Darby in the eyes and nodded reluctantly in return, for she knew he spoke the truth.

"Well I know how skilled you are as a Spectre Orion, but after seeing you in action with the Star-Saber, I guess I would just feel that much better knowing that you had it with you." she replied, earning a smile from the Bot.

"Hey, I have managed all these years without it before now. This won't be any different, trust me." he said back with a smile before turning back to the others.

"Okay Quickstrike, lets go." The XO said to his cousin, who nodded back before pulling out of a hug with Ser-Ket. He then stood beside Orion while the Predacon joined Liara and Nightracer who looked back at the pair of Bots.

"We'll see you at the rendezvous, good luck." The Femme said back earning a nod from the cousins.

"You too." the young Darby replied before the two groups split up and headed off in different directions though both still heading toward the complex.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Back on the Achilles bridge, Rip-Claw was browsing through the numerous reports that had been sent to her from all sectors of the colony and it was starting to grind down what little patience she had. She knew as Commander of not only the Achilles but now of an entire colony, that everything came to her doorstep now.

Even things that she did not care for or want to know about, like status of the civilians or the colony's weather patterns. Now usually she should have directed all this nonsense to Ser-Ket and washed her hands free of it, but since the traitorous Femme had now switched sides, that meant that she had no choice but to take it. The Predacon could not even delegate it to any of the Terracons, since they would have no idea how to deal with it. And so here she was, reading one boring report after another, her spark slowly burning with anger at each and ever line of words on the holo-screen directly in front of her.

The Femme sighed as her eyes drifted away from the influx of pointless information as she looked around the room, hoping to find something which she could fix her attention too. And as if some great unknown power had heard her silent prayer, Rip-Claw's eyes fell upon a Terracon that looked uneasy while sitting at it's station. In fact the Femme recognised this particular soldier as the one that had mentioned the breach in the sensors an hour or so ago.

"Soldier, what is the matter?" she asked in a commanding tone that almost made the Terracon jump out of his seat as he turned to face her.

"Commander...Rip-Claw...sir!" he said with a nervous salute, which the Femme ignored as she looked back at him, quietly thankful for the distraction.

"Soldier, I said what is the matter?"

"..Sir...the group of Stalkers, the ones you had me investigate the sensor breach earlier. I have yet to hear back from them." the Terracon replied, earning a curious expression from the Femme.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I have yet to receive any data from the Stalkers and they should have reached the area well before now." he replied hesitantly. Rip-Claw got up and walked over to his station and looked at his terminal.

"Show me the communication screen for that particular group of Stalkers." She then said as she stood behind the Terracon, who nervously typed on his holo-interface until another screen appeared, making the Femme focus as she looked at it.

"Well you are right, they haven't sent you any..." Rip-Claw began to say before her eyes spotted something.

"What is that?" she asked while pointing over to an active small data window in the bottom right-hand corner of the holo-screen.

"That is the failed comms section, where corrupted messages are stored before deletion. We never take any notice of them, since we receive so many corrupted messages from the Stalkers on a daily basis." the Terracon replied, making the Predacon point at the last message.

"Activate that one will you." she said back.

"But sir, it is corrupted. There is nothing we can..." he began to reply, only for the Femme to cut him off.

"Do it anyway, indulge me."

The soldier reluctantly nodded and began the message which filled the screen, but the image was highly distorted with the only sound they could hear was static.

"See if you can clean it up." Rip-Claw ordered, gaining a nod from the Terracon who activated a cleansing program which began to defrag the message. And slowly the visual started to become clear, earning a wide-eyed look from the Femme.

"It's not a message but a single frame image, something the Stalker had seen. Keep at it." she stated, while the Soldier continued to work with the program which continued to go through every single bit of the message and clear it up, until the photo was completely repaired and visible before the pair. Rip-Claw just blinked as her eyes widened even more at the single frame on the screen before her.

"That's impossible..." she said in a shocked tone, as the image showed her Sister Ser-Ket readying herself for combat against the Stalker whose visual data the pair were now viewing.

"She is dead, Ser-Ket is dead. Skystalker killed her and that Autobot scum." the Femme stated before activating her holo-tool and connected it to the colony's internal sensors, searching for the beacon that Galvatron had given her the frequency for. But nothing appeared, which left the Femme even more confused. The Terracn meanwhile had noticed something else about the image and zoomed in on an area just behind the supposedly dead Predacon, which showed what looked like another female that neither of them had seen before.

"Who is that?" the soldier asked, making Rip-Claw shake her head in response.

"I have no idea, but I can tell what it is." she replied as she pointed at the red emblem that could be seen on the figure's armour.

"Autobot!"

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

The blade cut right threw the flesh, spilling blood-like fluid down the Terracon's chest before Ser-Ket removed her holo-blade from the now dead enemy's throat and dropped the body to the floor. She then turned around to see both Liara and Nightracer disposing of their respective Terracons as the Asari merely flickered her hand to the right, sending the Con smashing into the corridor's wall. Nightracer meanwhile had kicked the back of one of her target's legs, causing him to fall to his knees before she aimed her gun at is head and pulled the trigger, spilling more fluid upon the wall next to her.

"There are no more Terracons in the immediate vircinity." Ser-Ket said after taking a sniff of the air.

"You can tell that by just sniffing?" Nightracer asked curiously.

"Yes, all Predacons have this ability, though we have to concentrate when doing so, or else we smell nothing."

"It is very impressive." Liara added, earning a head-shake from the Predacon.

"It's not as impressive as your biotics, believe me. I would rather have that over this." Ser-Ket replied with a smile as she gestured to her nose.

"So which way now?" the Asari asked, looking over to Nightracer who was consulting the map on her holo-tool.

"We have to keep heading down this corridor until we reach a cross section, then take the right turn and continue for a hundred yards until we reach this T-junction. Then we take the left turn and move four hundred yards, and then we reach the target." the Femme said back as she showed them the holo-image, earning a nod from her team mates.

"Well we better keep moving, especially if we want to capitalise on the lack of security that this plac..." Ser-Ket began to say before sirens blared out along with a voice on the inter-com.

"Intruder Alert, Intruder Alert. Autobots have breaches the complex, all Terracons to combat, I repeat all Terracons to combat!"

"Well that didn't last long." Liara replied, earning defiant looks from both Nightracer and Ser-Ket.

"Let's move." the former replied as the two other women followed down the corridor.

"Intruder Alert, Intruder Alert. Autobots have breaches the complex, all Terracons to combat, I repeat all Terracons to combat!"

"Well that didn't last long." Liara replied, earning defiant looks from both Nightracer and Ser-Ket.

"Let's move." the former replied as the others followed her down the corridor.

Meanwhile Orion and Quickstrike exited an elevator into a massive tunnel that made it look like they were in a mine, due to the rocky walls and support arch-ways that kept the area stable. Their infiltration had gone off without a hitch since they had yet to come across any patrols, but the pair knew that their luck couldn't last forever.

"We are now on the lowest level of the colony, the geo-thermal reactor is ten miles in that direction." the blonde Bot said while pointing behind them.

"Not that I am against a good trek, but our target much closer." the Spectre replied, gaining a nod from his cousin.

"Yeah, its a couple hundred metres in the opposite direction." he said back with a smile, while Orion readied his weapon.

"Come on, we..." he started to say before suddenly their ears were bombarded with the same siren and intruder alert that was now being heard around the entire colony.

"Looks like we will have to fight our way to the room." Quickstrike states as he points over to the Terracon patrol that appears from a connecting tunnel ahead of them.

"Good." was all Orion said in return before opening fire on the enemy troops, causing them to take cover behind the nearby arch-way and fire back. Both Bots mirrored their foes as they shielded themselves with the arch-way nearest them, making both cousins smirk at each other from across the width of the corridor while bullets either flew past or ricocheted off the metal support beams.

"You actually preferred a straight fight to sneaking in, didn't you?" Quickstrike shouted to his cousin over the gunfire, as the young Darby took out two of the Terracons, one with a clean head shot as he peeked out from his cover and the other with two shots in his chest. The Bot then looked over to bis blonde friend, who was firing back at the soldiers.

"I wouldn't usually say this, but...yes I do." Orion replied honestly, before noticing another Terracon stepping out of cover to fire upon them, and so killing him first with several bullets to his chest.

"I am really sorry Orion, for your parents." Quickstrike said back, gaining a glance from the other Bot.

"Mom and Dad are still out there, they can still be saved." the Darby said back in a hopeful tone, earning a knowing look from the blonde Bot as he dropped two more Terracons with head shots.

"Yes...they are, and I know that we can save them...as long as we keep clear heads.

The last of the Predacon soldiers dived out of cover before spray his bullets at both Bots in a vain last effort to kill them, but Orion simply shot three bullets at him which impacted twice in his chest and the other in his head, sending him to the ground to join the remainder of his dead comrades. The blue haired Bot then got to his feet and looked at his cousin with a confused expression.

"What do you mean?" he asked with an uncertain tone.

"How you were towards Ser-Ket earlier, that was the sort of behaviour you would expect to see from a lynch mob. You were letting your anger towards the Predacons cloud your better judgement and that will end up getting the rest of us killed, the mission comes first." Quickstrike replied with a calm expression and honest tone, earning a wide eyed look from the young Darby.

"Your kidding right, after what they have taken from us both. Your the last person I would expect to say that."

"Perhaps, but I haven't lost perspective. And there is no way I can ever blame Ser-Ket for what happened to my parents, for one I know that she was not responsible or even present to the events that killed my Father and put my Mother in a Coma . That responsibility rests solely on the Predacons in general and helping to defeat them is all I feel I need to get by, you know what I am saying don't you Orion?"

The blue haired Bot nodded in return as he looked down at the ground for a moment and thought on Quickstrike's words, met his cousin's eyes.

"My parents would be ashamed if they found out that I went full-on revenge against anyone, especially my Mom who had told me all about how wanting to avenge fallen friends had nearly cost the lives of herself and others many times in the past."

"Exactly because I also know that Stalker earlier would never have got the jump on you, not if you were completely focused on the mission. Now let's get moving because I swore I heard more enemies approaching from the way we came in." Quickstrike replied, gaining another nod from Orion before both Bots carried on down the tunnel towards their target.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Rip-Claw felt like she was climbing the walls as the Femme sat in the Captain's chair on the Achilles bridge and watched the Terracons frantically working around her, trying to get on top of the Autobot infiltration that was currently in motion somewhere in the colony.

"Report! Someone tell me they know where the Autobots are?" she spat, gaining scared and worried looks from the soldiers. None of them would say a word, for fear that the wrong one could cost them their lives.

"Come on! We don't have all day!" the Femme continued, earning an uncertain expression from the soldier as he typed on his holo-interface and brought up several com-links and camera feeds.

"Sir.., here are the Terracon comma chatter from across the entire colony." the soldier stated, earning a focused stare from the Femme as she looked at all the data feeds.

"They are in this one, the Eastern complex which is not far from the area where we lost contact with the Stalkers." Rip-Claw said aloud while pointing at the one window showing a straight line, not unlike a flat line on a heart-beat monitor.

"Sir?" the Terracon replied with a questionable tone.

"Have a group of Terracons meet me in that area of the complex now." the Predacon ordered as she got up out of her seat and started for the door, earning a nod from the soldier as he turned back round and worked his terminal. But as the Femme reached the exit, another Terracon gained her attention.

"Commander Rip-Claw, a patrol has reported in from one of the underground tunnels right below that area of the complex. They have found several dead troops and suspect that more Autobots are there."

"Have another squad of Terracons head down there, and send in Skystalker. Those tunnels are large enough for him to flush out the enemy." Rip-Claw replied before exiting the room and heading toward the shuttle-bay, leaving the Terracons to return to their duties.

Meanwhile Nightracer, Liara and Ser-Ket took cover in a doorway, as the Autobot Femme took a peek and saw three Terracons walking into an open door just away from them.

"Okay, our computer access is through that door...which just had three Terracons walk through." she stated as she looked back at her companions.

"And who knows how many more are in there." Liara replied, gaining a knowing look from the Predacon.

"Well I have an idea that might give us an advantage."

This made both the Asari and the other Femme look at her curiously as she gave them a smirk.

Inside the room, several Terracons were scattered around the room which was filled with large servers and terminals. A few of them were manned while the other soldiers merely stood guard with rifles in hand, ready for any trouble to come their way. They were so focused on their duty that when the door to the room opened, they immediately aimed the weapons at whoever would be standing in the now open doorway. But everyone suddenly stopped and looked wide-eyed at the person who entered the room and stood before them, shock took over as they lowered their weapons, it was if they had seen a ghost.

"C..Commander...Ser-Ket!" one of the Terracons stammered as the Femme looked back at them with her weapon holstered, seemingly defenceless but they knew better.

"...You are dead!" another Con said with shock evident in her voice, gaining a stare from the Predacon.

"And yet here I am." she said back, as two of the several Terracons re-aimed their weapons at her.

"Commander Rip-Claw had branded you a traitor to our cause, so dead or not...I am afraid we have to take you to her."

"Well that certainly is not going to happen...Now!" the Femme exclaimed before both Liara and Nightracer burst into the room and began taking down the Terracons, with either gunfire or biotic blasts. The Asari even lifted one off the ground and threw him into some of the other Terracons that were gathered on one side of the room. Once they were done, the three women were the only ones standing as all the enemy soldiers were lying dead on the floor.

"Well, that was too easy." Liara said with an unconvinced tone, earning a shoulder shrug from Nightracer.

"I am not going to complain about it."

"The Terracons are a subgroup of us Predacons and while they are sentient and think for themselves...to a point, they are easily distracted and surprised." Ser-Ket explained.

"Not to mention that I think we have killed a few of these guys already." Nightracer said back while looking down at one of the corpses.

"The footage and reports that Orion and I studied, about what happened at New Iacon showed that many of the Terracons engaged in that battle were identical to each other. They are probably clones of merely a handful of the original Terracons, and then were multiplied hundreds...possibly thousands of times. To created the army that Galvatron required." Liara replied, earning a nod from Ser-Ket.

"The footage and reports that Orion and I studied, about what happened at New Iacon showed that many of the Terracons engaged in that battle were identical to each other. They are probably clones of merely a handful of the original Terracons, and then were multiplied hundreds...possibly thousands of times to create the army that Galvatron required." Liara replied, earning a nod from Ser-Ket.

"That sounds about right."

"Wouldn't you know about that already? I mean you were one of his lieutenants." Nightracer asked in a slightly disbelieving tone as she looked at the Femme.

"No I wouldn't because out of all us Predacons, only Six-Shot and Shockblast have been known to converse with Galvatron privately. I have only seen him with the others all together or in the presence of the Terracons, but the brothers have definitely seen him behind closed doors. If Galvatron shared any information with his lieutenants, then it was those two."

The Asari gave the Femme a supportive look as she observed the pair of Cybertronains.

"I would have to agree with Ser-Ket, since I saw what Galvatron was like around both Shockblast and his brother." Liara said back as she remembered her time on Cybertron.

"But maybe we can discuss this after we have completed our mission." she added, gaining a nod from Nightracer and Ser-Ket. The former then looked back at the Predacon with a regretful expression.

"I'm sorry, I didn't what I said to sound distrustful."

"I know and I didn't take it that way." Ser-Ket replied before moving over to the nearest terminal and typing on it's holo-interface.

"Anyway Liara's right, so lets get on with this." she added whilst a number of data feeds appeared on her holo-screen, gaining a nod from both Liara and Nightracer. The former stood beside her while the Femme stood in the doorway and kept a look out.

"How long do you think this will take?" she asked back while not taking her eyes from the corridor that was just beyond the doorway.

"I am already inside the system, seems one of the Terracons here did not log out before we arrived." the Predacon Femme replied.

"Well that is a stroke of luck for us, isn't it." Liara said back while watching Ser-Ket activate and link her holo-tool to the terminal.

"It certainly is, I am currently downloading all the Intel I can from the Predacon database while also gaining access to the Comms Network. I should be able to deactivate whatever changes were made silence the Autobots."

"Okay then, we won't trouble you any more then." Nightracer replied, earning a nod from Liara who stepped away from the Predacon, allowing her to work without distraction. And for the next several minutes, the team did not speak as Ser-Ket kept her focus completely on her task whilst Nightracer remained on guard, until Liara noticed a grin appear on the Predacon Femme's face.

"Done! I have managed to switch control of the Comms Network back to Autobot control."

This earned relieved and grateful looks of glee from both Nightracer and Liara from there respective locations near the Femme, the latter joining the Femme's side as she deactivated her holo-tool.

"That's great news." she exclaimed in return.

"I also downloaded Predacon fleet movements and Intel about the laboratories on Cybertron that are under enemy control and there exact locations." Ser-Ket added, gaining a nod from Nightracer before her face became serious as she aimed her weapon down the corridor before her.

"That's great, because we have a group of Terracons baring down on our position right..." she began to say before she suddenly felt a fist hit her directly in the face with such speed and strength, that it sent her flying through the air until she hit one of the servers and fell onto the floor unconscious.

"Nightracer!" Liara called out as both she and Ser-Ket looked on in shock at their friend who was on her front as a heavily armoured and very built person entered the room, it was someone that Ser-Ket knew only too well.

"Rip-Claw..." she stated,

Both females looked on in surprise as the Predacon Commander stood there in her Beast mode, her eyes narrowed as they stared back at the traitor.

"So you are alive, though surely you would be smarter than returning here. But then again you are hanging around with the Autobots so to the pit if I would know, since you have become nothing more than a stranger in my eyes."

"I will not act as if I care for what you think of me Rip-Claw, and I will no longer play a part to what the Predacons have planned. Such slaughter and destruction, it sickens me right down to my spark." Ser-Ket replied as she stepped away from the terminal and clenched her fists, knowing how this was going to turn out. She looked over to Liara as three Terracons entered the room behind Rip-Claw.

"Are you going to further disappoint me and surrender considering that we outnumber you, or are you going to fight and prove that there is still some Predacon in you?" the Commander asked as she stared daggers at the Femme while baring her sharp teeth. Liara looked down at the unconscious Nightracer before glancing over to Ser-Ket, who merely nodded back to her. And in that instant the Asari knew what her new friend wanted, and she clenched her fists until a blue glow appeared around them. The Terracons noticed this and aimed their weapons at her, unsure looks on their faces as Liara stared back.

"Commander Rip-Claw, what about her?" the soldier on her right asked, but this did not even get a reaction from the Predacon as she kept her eyes firmly on her Sister who activated her holo-blades.

"Deal with her, Ser-Ket is mine." she growled before launching herself through the air and tackling the former Predacon to the ground, leaving the Terracons where they were standing before they too opened fire on the Asari. But Liara instinctively erected a biotic shield directly in front of her, which the bullets harmlessly deflected off before she threw a biotic punch through the air, sending one of the soldiers on to his ass. She then launched herself into a biotic charge, moving as a blue blur as she smashed into another soldier before turning to the last one who activated his holo-dagger and swiped it at Liara's face.

Meanwhile Ser-Ket found herself pinned to the floor by her Sister who at this very moment was more powerful, considering she was using her Beast mode. If the Femme was going to win this, she knew that she would need to change too. But that was something Ser-Ket did not want to do, so instead she looked up at Rip-Claw who drooled a little as she lowered her head closer and bared her teeth. That was all the former Predacon needed as she then head butted her Sister who yelped in response as she pulled back, that freed the Femme's arms and she followed up by swiping her holo-blades across Rip-Claw's chest which cut deep enough through to reach the skin beneath.

This earned another howl of pain from the Predacon who got up off Ser-Ket, who followed suit and then attacked again with another swipe of her blades. Her adversary though managed to deflect the strikes with the armour of her gauntlets before reacting with an attack of her own with her sharp claws, Rip-Claw managed to get a hit on Ser-Ket across her face, which left a deep cut on her left cheek as she stumbled back a few steps. The Predacon Commander then smiled deviously before showing her blood covered claws and took a lick from one of their tips, showing pleasure in the act of making her enemy bleed.

"Is that all you can do Rip-Claw, just make a little scratch?" Ser-Ket asked with a sarcastic tone, which made the other Femme's blood boil as she gritted her teeth.

"I will bath in your blood you traitorous wretch." she roared as she lunged at her former Sister, who dodged the attack and sliced her holo-blade at her adversary's side, spilling blood out and earning another cry from her as she covered the wound with her arm and backed off slightly.

"Come on Rip-Claw, where is that killer instinct you claim is always on the burn in your spark? Or do you only have that when facing enemies that clearly can't beat you?" Ser-Ket said, making her Sister's eyes narrow even more as she looked back with pure hatred.

' _That's it, keep pissing her of until she can't think straight and just goes berserk, then Rip-Claw is simply another wild animal who can be out-thought and defeated._ ' the former Predacon thought before she went into another attack and brought both her holo-blades down upon Rip-Claw, who this time stopped the attack instantly by blocking both blades with her right gauntlet which earned a look of surprise from Ser-Ket.

"Not so animalistic as you thought, huh?" she spat back, leaving Ser-Ket completely gob smacked.

' _She was playing me?_ ' she thought before Rip-Claw with her free hand punched the Femme so hard in the chest, that it felt like a sledge hammer had hit her as it sent her flying into one of the serves behind her. As she hit the ground Ser-Ket's back and chest both ached, earning a grunt from her as she saw her Sister walking over to her slowly.

As this happened, Liara had just disarmed the Terracon of his knife and punched him in the face with another biotic attack, one that knocked him unconscious. She then saw Rip-Claw standing over Ser-Ket and was about to move to assist when suddenly the Asari stopped and raised her glowing hand in the air, which immediately made the other two Terracons, who had recovered and were attacking her from behind.

This made them stop and float in the air as blue energy covered their bodies, and then Liara snapped her fingers and made both men slam into each other, taking themselves out as they fell to the ground unconscious. Liara then returned her attention to Ser-Ket and saw Rip-Claw preparing to give the killing blow and so reached her hand out at one of the servers and concentrated, which made the object glow with energy before it was ripped off it's hinges and made to float in the air. As this was happening, the Predacon Commander knelt down beside her traitorous Sister and held her sharp claws up, ready to strike.

"I have looked forward to this Sister, so very much. I will be sure to send your Autobot friends to join you in the Allspark….. Farewell." she said with a finality to her voice before bringing the claws down upon Ser-Ket, when suddenly she stopped just short as someone interrupted her.

"Rip-Claw." a voice shouted, making the Femme turn round just in time to see a server hit he square in the face, knocking the Predacon to the floor hard. Liara stood there and maintained control of the broken server with her biotics, Ser-Ket could only lie there and watch as Rip-Claw tried to get back to her feet but was stopped in her tracks as the server was slammed down upon her, knocking the Femme unconscious.

"Are you alright?" Liara then asked as she released the server, which fell to the ground with a loud bang and rushed over to Ser-Ket's side.

"I will be, thank you Liara." the former Predacon replied, earning a smile from the Asari as she helped her to her feet.

"Your welcome." she replied before turning her attention to Nightracer who was just coming too, heading over to the Autobot and leaving Ser-Ket by herself, who then felt a strange but familiar sensation in her chest.

' _It can't be._ ' she thought as the feeling was from something she had thought gone as a look of worry appeared on her face, as both Liara and Nightracer looked over to her and noticed this.

"What's wrong?" Nightracer asked, making the former Predacon shake her head in return.

"Nothing, I am alright." she lied as she tried to push her fears aside and focus on the task at hand.

"We should get moving back to the rendezvous." she added while walking over to join her friends, Liara meanwhile looked over at Rip-Claw who as still unconscious.

"What about her?"

"Leave her, we don't have time to waste." Ser-Ket replied, gaining a nod of agreement from Nightracer.

"Ser-Ket's right, lets go." the Autobot said in return, as the trio rushed out of the room and back into the corridor. Nightracer then tapped her com-link as they ran back the way they came.

"Bravo to Alpha, do you read? We have achieved the mission objectives and are returning to the rendezvous point."

"We read you loud and clear Nightracer, good job." Orion replied into his com-link as both he and Quickstrike shot down two more Terracons who stood in their path, as the pair continued down the large tunnel.

"We are almost at our target, see you at the rendezvous." he added before ending the call, just as Quickstrike pointed at a doorway just ahead of them.

"There it is." he stated as the pair approached the door with weapons ready, taking positions on both sides of the doors.

"So how many Terracons do you think are in there?" Orion asked, as his cousin reloaded his rifle in preparation.

"Considering it usually takes around four Engineers to man a sub-station like this, I would say there would have to be the same number of Terracons in there."

"Well, only one way to find out." Orion replied as he pressed the door activation panel and opened the door, then his cousin went in first and immediately took note that there were exactly four enemy soldiers in the room, just like he said there would be. They all had their backs turned to the pair who managed to enter quietly enough, Quickstrike moved over to the closest of the group first and grabbed him via the throat to strangle him.

Orion kept his rifle trained on the other three, but the struggling Terracon managed to kick the terminal as he fought back which alerted the others. They turned round and looked at the Autobots in surprise as they began to equip their weapons, but Orion fired a shot directly into the spark of one of them, making him fall to the ground in a heap. And followed through and shot the second in the head, earning a splat of blood-like liquid on the wall behind him as he fell to the ground.

But the third managed to get his weapon ready and began aiming it at Quickstrike who was still strangling the first Terracon, but before Orion could do anything his cousin kept hold of his target with one arm, while equipping his hand-gun with the other and then shot the third Terracon in the face in one quick smooth action. Then as that corpse fell to the ground, he re-holstered his gun and then killed the Terracon in his hands by snapping his neck.

"Why didn't you do that to start with?" Orion asked as the blonde Bot dropped the body to the ground and looked around the room.

"Didn't think of that one at first." he replied, earning a surprised expression from his cousin.

"What?...I'm only Cybertronian. Come on, you use that terminal while I man this one." he added as he gestured to the blood splattered terminal next to the blue haired Bot, as he began typing on the holo-interface of the one next to him.

"Orion, you activate the diagnostic while I begin to overload the reactor." Quickstrike said, gaining a nod from his cousin who typed on the holo-pad in front of him. The pair then spent several minutes looking on the system until Orion smiled as a data window appeared on his terminal's holo-screen.

"I have found the diagnostic Quickstrike, and I am running it now." Orion replied, earning a smile from the blonde Autobot.

"That's good timing, because I have found the program that controls the reactor and it sub-stations. I am overloading one of them as we speak, hopefully the diagnostic you activated should keep the power build-up hidden until it's too late."

As Quickstrike typed in the last command, his holo-screen flashed red with a warning and a timer that began counting down.

'Warning, if final key entry is given, the reactor will overload in five minutes. Warning, reactor will overload in five minutes.'

The Bot then activated his holo-tool and typed on it's interface until another timer appeared on it's screen, this one said ten minutes which confused Orion a little as he looked at his cousin.

"Why the extra timer?"

"It will only take five minutes for the reactor to begin an overload, but it will take a further five minutes for the overload to destroy the reactor so.." the Bot explained before turning back to the terminal and pressing the key on it's interface, which began the countdown.

"Alright, time to haul ass." Quickstrike stated before both he and Orion ran out of the room and back into the corridor.

"It's this way to the exit, that should take us back to the surface." The blonde Bot added as the pair ran down the tunnel, with Orion tapping his com-link as they did so.

"This is Alpha team, objective complete, I repeat objective complete. On way to rendezvous point."

The Bot then ended the transmission and readied his weapon, as both Bots spotted three more Terracons approaching ahead of them.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

"On way to rendezvous point."

That was what Nightracer heard from her com-link as she, Liara and Ser-Ket ran through the grass field on the way back to the rendezvous. They had exited the complex just a few minutes ago and luckily had not come across any more Terracons, hence the good time they were making.

"Alpha team is on their way out." she said back to Liara and Ser-Ket, gaining looks of relief from the pair.

"That's just what I wanted to hear." the Asari replied with a smile, with the Predacon Femme nodding in agreement.

"Same here."

"Well we should see them back at the rendezvous..." Nightracer said, before the sound of grass being crunched underfoot caught her's and the others attention. The trio stopped and raised their weapons in the direction the sound was heard.

"You think its more Stalkers?" Liara asked, earning a shrug of the shoulders from Ser-Ket.

"I'm not sure, but..."

But before she could finish her sentence, Shen suddenly appeared from under the long grass with his sniper rifle aimed at them.

"Freeze!" he exclaimed, surprising the women before they realised who it was.

"Shen? What the hell! Stop pointing that gun at us." Nightracer spat back, gaining an embarrassed expression from the Turian before he lowered the sniper rifle.

"Sorry, I thought you might have been more Terracons."

"What do you mean, and why are you not at the rendezvous?" the Autobot Femme replied with a confused look, one that was shared by both Liara and Ser-Ket.

"I am sorry but the rendezvous is lost, there are Predacon troops all over the site. I first noticed them scouting out the areas nearby, sort of like searching the perimeter around the city. Then when they got to close, that's why I decided to move. Didn't think it would be good for them to find me, plus I was outnumbered so I made my way down here knowing that I would probably run into you guys." Shen said back.

"So why did you think we were Terracons?" Ser-Ket asked in return, still wanting that particular detail to be explained.

"I have been evading these enemies ever since you guys headed off for the complex, so I have been a bit on edge." the Turian replied.

"Okay, well I better let Bravo team know that we have a change of plan." Nightracer said before tapping her com-link.

"Alpha this is Bravo, do you read?"

Meanwhile Orion and Quickstrike had just fought through the third team of Terracons as they made their way through the tunnel system, when the XO's com-link went off.

"Alpha this is Bravo, do you read?" the Femme's voice came though, gaining a nod from Orion as he saw the last Terracon fall to the ground with smoke emanating from bullet holes in his chest.

"Read you loud and clear Bravo, what's the sit-rep?"

"We are clear of the complex, but our rendezvous has been lost. So we should regroup at current coordinates?" the Femme replied.

"Why? What's happened to the rendezvous?"

"The Predacon patrols nearly found Shen as he awaited our return, he is with us now. But their patrols are apparently watching the perimeter around the city, so I think we should regroup here." Nightracer said back.

"Alright, well we are nearly out of here..." the Bot replied before turning to Quickstrike.

"How long until the reactor goes?"

This made the blonde Bot look at the timer on his holo-tool which just crossed the three and a half-minute mark, which was met by a tremor shook the entire area.

"Well since my timer is down to nearly two minutes and the tremors are now starting, I would say its close." he said back, gaining a nod from Orion as rocks and dust began to fall from the rocky ceiling due to the quake.

"Did you guys feel that?" he said back into his com-link.

"Yes we did, so it's started. Better hurry up and get up here." the Autobot Femme replied.

"We are on our way, ETA one minute." Orion said back as suddenly he and Quickstrike felt another tremor, though this one felt different.

"What in the Allspark was that?" the Bot asked as both looked at each other confused.

"I don't think that was the reactor, that felt too close." Quickstrike said back, before they felt another tremor followed by another.

"That feels more like foot steps." the young Darby replied as the Blonde Bot went quiet and his face looked worried.

"Oh crap." was all he said as the tremors got even closer and he pointed ahead of himself and Orion, towards the way they needed to go. His cousin looked too just in time to see a large white and blue metallic dragon turn a corner several hundred meters ahead and enter the tunnel that they were currently in, it's yellow eyes narrowing as it spotted them and growled.

"What the..."

"It's Skystalker." Quickstrike exclaimed before grabbing Orion's shoulder and yanking him back.

"Run!" he shouted just as the beast roared and began charging at them, the ground shaking with every foot fall from them Predacon.

"what's going on?" Nightracer asked frantically down the com-link.

"Our exit is blocked, by something called Skystalker." Orion shouted back while running as fast as he could.

"Nightracer?" the Femme replied before Ser-Ket's voice could be heard in the back ground.

"By the Allspark."

The pair of Bots continued to sprint through the tunnel as the beast gained on them with every stride, getting that much closer to killing them.

"Is there any other way out?" Liara could be heard asking in a panic before Nightracer spoke up on the Com-link.

"You guys have another way out right?" she said with a growing worry in her voice.

"No we don't...wait thats it!" Orion said back as an idea hit him.

"Have to end the call here, calling the Normandy." the Bot said back before ending the call.

"Wait...what?..." was all Nightracer could say before her voice fizzled out, and the Bot tapped his com-link again while breathing heavily as he forces his muscles to keep going as he and Quickstrike continued to run.

"Orion to Normandy, come in Normandy."

"This is Rodimus, what can..." the Commander spoke before his XO jumped in.

"We need a ground-bridge to Bravo team's location now!"

"Orion, our ground-bridge mode has not been tested yet." the Commander replied while Quickstrike looked over his shoulder to see the Predacon beast getting even closer as it roared.

"Whatever your going to do, make it fast!" he shouted.

"There's no time like the present Rodimus, activate a ground-bridge portal in front of our signals."

"Roger that...get the ground-bridge operational...I don't care, just do it." Orion could hear his mentor and friend yell at the other end of the com-link as he spotted three Terracons as both he and Quickstrike ran past the them. The Cons quickly equipped their weapons, but then suddenly looked surprised at the sight of their enemies fleeing. But then the sound of a ear splitting roar from behind them made the Terracons look back, their eyes widened in horror at what they saw.

"Scrap!" one exclaimed as he tried to run before all three were then trampled on by the beast. Meanwhile Quickstrike took a glance at his holo-tool while he ran before looking over at his cousin.

"nine, eight, seven…!" he began to shout as the tremors from the reactor grew in strength, causing rocks to fall from the ceiling.

"Watch out!" Orion shouted back before looking over his shoulder to see the beast roar and then follow through by keeping it's mouth open as it began to charge its fire breath, Skystalker was now so close behind them that the young Darby could see right to the back of it's throat as the fire started to emerge.

So he bit his lip and looked back to the front, silently praying for some kind of miracle to stop the pair of them from being incinerated. And then suddenly as if someone had heard him, a green light appeared and reflected off Orion's eyes just as the timer hit zero.

And in that instant miles away, the geo-thermal reactor located right below the Communications Tower which was under so much pressure and strain exploded all of a sudden, sending a massive shockwave out in all directions and a fireball of superheated plasma upwards.

Bravo team fought to keep on their feet as the entire area around them was hit by an earthquake the likes of which they had not experienced.

"What the hell?" Shen exclaimed as Ser-Ket suddenly pointed towards the Tower that could be seen clearly from their location, as it was the tallest building in the entire city. The structure began to shake and crack as it was rattled with internal explosions across it's entire surface, gaining a smile from Nightracer.

"They did it." she said with relief in her voice, but she then looked back at both Liara and Ser-Ket who were watching the spectacle with worry written across their faces.

"Where are they?" the Asari asked out loud as if hoping for someone to answer her, but it was a question to which no one could. All they could do was watch as the tower began to collapse and fall like a deck of cards to the ground below, creating a massive dust cloud which glowed as the fire continued to burn brightly at the center of the city. Everyone saw the destruction, from the Terracons patrolling the streets to the civilians trapped in their homes as prisoners, looking out of their windows at the sight before them.

"Surely they got out?" Ser-Ket asked with a slight glimmer of hope, before suddenly a bright green vortex opened up just a few feet away from the group. Everyone knew what it was, but held their breath to see who would emerge from it's event horizon when in the blink of an eye, both Orion and Quickstrike dived through and hit the ground hard.

They rolled on their sides across the grass as a fireball exited the vortex right behind them and burnt out safely over the pair, earning dumbfounded looks from everyone there. Then just as it quickly as it appeared, the vortex closed and the pair of Bots slowly got to their feet and looked up at the others.

"Hey guys, mind if we drop in?" Orion asked, earning a big smile from Liara who rushed over and pulled the blue haired Bot into a embrace. Ser-Ket followed suit immediately and embraced Quickstrike who gave her a kiss in return, which made Shen smile at Nightracer coyly.

"Wanna give me a hug or a kiss?"

The Femme simply shook her head and chuckled before slapping his shoulder, and then began walking over to Orion who was still in the middle of an embrace with Liara.

"I was so worried you were…" she started to say before the Bot cut her off.

"It's alright, I did too…for a moment." he replied as he hugged her back, happy to see that she too was unhurt. Similar happenings were going on between Quickstrike and Ser-Ket as they had yet to let go of each other, but then both pair's attention was caught by Nightracer who approached them.

"So they got the ground-bridge mode of the space-bridge generator working?" she asked, gaining nods from the cousins who finally separated from Ser-Ket and Liara.

"Yeah, just in the nick of time too." the blonde Bot replied, as Orion looked back at the Femme.

"So I take it the Communications blackout has been lifted?".

"Yes, we managed to deactivate the block that was keeping all ISF forces from communicating with each other, and now with the destruction of the Hub complete, there is no way for the Predacons to do it again." Nightracer replied, earning a smile from the young Darby.

"That's great, and did you manage to get any Intel from their database?"

"I downloaded everything I could from their systems Orion, from fleet movements to intelligence reports. Plus there is something very interesting I found concerning Cybertron, I would suggest you look at that first." Ser-Ket replied as she activated her holo-tool and began transferring the Intel to the Autobot Spectre's, which made the Bot give the Femme an appreciative smile in return.

"Thank you Ser-Ket, I am glad you are on our side." he said back, earning a mirrored expression from the Femme.

"As am I Orion."

Quickstrike joined her side and placed held her hand in his own as he smiled at her and then the others.

"Yeah, go team! But I think we should be getting out of here now…right?" he said, which made everyone but Ser-Ket nod back in agreement. The former Predacon looked back at the city, pulling her hand out from the blonde Bot's grasp, earning a surprised expression from him.

"Ser-Ket?"

"Quickstrike is right, you should go. I can already tell that the others are coming." she replied in an ominous tone, one that caught the attention of everyone.

"Why did you say 'you' and not 'we' should go Ser-Ket?" the blond Bot asked as he stepped in front of the Femme who had turned her eyes to the ground.

"Yeah, your part of the team now Ser-Ket. I don't think Orion is going to say no to you now." Shen added, earning angry looks from Liara and Nightracer while the blue haired Bot did not know where to look. But they were all ignored by Quickstrike as he kept his focus completely on the woman who had come to be his lover.

"Ser-Ket, talk to me. What's going on?" he asked gently, but she still kept her eyes from him.

"You should go." was all she could say.

"Not with out you I'm not. You didn't think that I was going to leave you here did you. Getting the two of us off this planet has been all I can think about since you helped me escape that prison cell." he said as he reached down and took one of her hands in his own while with the other, he touched the Bottom of her chin and gently raised her face so that her eyes would meet his.

"..You're a part of my life now Ser-Ket, and I…" he started to say before she pressed a finger against his lips and stopped him mid sentence.

"I know Quickstrike, you mean exactly the same to me. Which is why this has been made even harder for myself." she replied as she looked into his eyes, those beautiful eyes that she could just lose herself in.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't go with you, I want to be with you more than anything Quickstrike. But you have to leave me behind.

The Bot's eyes widened at those words as he looked back at her in shock and disbelief.

"No, I won't leave you behind. Why do I have too?"

"Because if you don't, then you will risk the lives of everyone of your friends standing here now." Ser-Ket replied before taking a step back from the blonde Bot and opening the chest-plate of her armour slightly. Everyone including Quickstrike looked on silence as a small light could be seen blinking on and off brightly under the skin of her chest.

"What is that?" Nightracer asked, beating the others to the question.

"It's a tracking beacon, it's giving off my position to the Predacons." Ser-Ket replied, making the others suddenly look around themselves, while Quickstrike continued to look at the Femme.

"It's how they found us back at the escape shuttle hanger Quickstrike, I thought it had been broken during our fight with Skystalker…but…..I was wrong." she added as she closed up the chest-plate.

"That's why I can not go with you, because if I did then the Predacons would know exactly where your ship is and attack it. And I can't take that risk."

Quickstrike then responded by grabbing the Femme by her arms and looking at her desperately, not wanting to let go.

"No, you don't have to do this. We can cut it out, leave it here for them to find." he said back, but the Femme shook her head in response.

"It's too close to my spark, removing it would kill me."

"Then I am not going, I am staying here with you." the blonde Bot replied defiantly, earning shocked looks from the rest of the group.

"Quickstrike…" Nightracer said back, earning a calm and content look from the Bot as he came to terms with what he must do.

"You guys go without me, because I am not leaving Ser-Ket."

But as he turned his attention away from his love, the Femme clenched her fist and shook her head gently.

"I am so sorry Quickstrike, but I can't let you do this." she whispered, which made the Bot look back as he caught the end of her words.

"What did you sa….." he started to say as he looked back at her, but the last thing he saw was her fist hitting him straight in the center of his face.

"Whooooaaah!" Shen exclaimed as Quickstrike fell to the ground unconscious, earning shocked looks from everyone as Orion rushed to his cousin's side.

"Why did you?" he asked as he looked down at the Bot before looking up at Ser-Ket.

"You know why, I cannot let him risk his life for me. I care about him to much for that." she replied before looking back at the city, noticing lights moving toward their location.

"They are nearly here, you should go."

"Shen, give me a hand here." Orion said, gaining the Turian's attention who then came over and helped him pick up his unconscious cousin. He then tapped his com-link with his free hand.

"Normandy, we need a ground-bridge now." he said and a second later the green vortex opened up behind them all.

"Remember what I said Orion, be sure to look at the data on Cybertron first. And take care of him for me." Ser-Ket said, earning a nod from the Bot.

"I will….on both counts, and thank you." he said back before offering he Femme his free hand, who looked at it for a moment before smiling in return and accepting it.

"Alright everyone, lets go." Orion then said back, earning nods from Nightracer and Liara who took one last look at Ser-Ket before rushing into the vortex, disappearing in the green swirling light. Orion and Shen were about to move with the unconscious Quickstrike, but the Femme moved in close to the Bot and whispered in his ear.

"I hope you can forgive me, I love you Quickstrike….Goodbye."

And then suddenly the former Predacon equipped her rifle, turned round into a kneeling position and fired several shots into a Terracon as it was charging towards them.

"Go!" she shouted back before laying down covering fire, making the enemy troops scatter while Orion and Shen carried his cousin towards the portal. Ser-Ket just kept firing at the Terracons, not allowing them a second to catch their breath. But the Femme could see that she would be overrun in a matter of seconds, and so switched to her holo-blades and began cutting down the enemy troops one after another.

Both Orion and Shen watched in amazement at Ser-Ket, who fought the enemy single-handedly as they both began to enter the event horizon of the vortex. But that was when Quickstike started to come too, and the first thing his eyes laid on was the sight of his lover fighting off the Terracon hordes.

"Ser-Ket!" he exclaimed as both his cousin and his friend fought to keep him in their grips as they pulled him into the portal.

"Don't fight us Quickstrike." Shen pleaded with him.

"It's what she wants." Orion added with sympathy in his voice, but the last thing the blonde Bot would see, would be the Terracons surrounding Ser-Ket and tackling her to the ground before continually pummeling her, just as the portal closed around him and the others as they were surrounded by green light, but leaving his lover in the hands of the enemy as storm clouds gathered overhead.

 


	27. Chapter 27

Everything happened so fast, one second Quickstrike was looking at Ser-Ket facing off against a horde of Terracons. Then in a flash of green light, he was standing what looked like a shuttle-bay. The Bot saw the vortex close in front him before hearing footsteps approaching from behind, so he turned around to see Orion and Shen standing at either side of him. Liara and Nightracer were also there, as was a man he did not recognise who was blonde and wore red and gold armour.

"Orion, report." he said, earning a nod from the blue haired Bot.

"Rodimus, We disabled the technology being used by the Predacons to jam all Autobot communications and then destroyed the tower to ensure that they could not do it again."

"Good job, you should know that we have already made contact with Autobot Command. They are mobilizing the fleets as we speak, so we can take back Omicron from the Predacons, and that's just for starters."

"We also gained a significant amount of Intel from the enemy's database, with your permission I would like to start looking through it immediately." Liara added, earning a nod from Rodimus. So the Asari then activated her holo-tool and linked it to Orion's, transferring it to hers.

"Don't forget what Ser-Ket said, look at the Cybertron data first." the XO said, earning a nod from her as the Commander gave them all a confused look.

"Who is Ser-Ket?"

"Ser-Ket is the one who made this mission a success...Commander, and then paid for it." Quickstrike suddenly came out and said with a tinge of anger and pain in his voice, earning the Commander's attention as he looked back. But before he could say anything, the Bot walked out of the shuttle-bay, leaving everyone in there in a limbo like state.

"That was Orion's cousin sir." Shen stated as a surprised Rodimus looked to his XO for answers.

"Ser-Ket was a Predacon who switched sides and helped us with our mission, Quickstrike is correct in saying that without her help, our mission would have failed." the blue haired Bot replied.

"There's more to it than that though right? I mean that's impression I got from him." the Commander replied, gaining a nod from the team.

"Ser-Ket rescued Quickstrike from the other Predacons, and they became close over the time they were on the run." Liara added.

"I see." Rodimus replied with a thoughtful look, while Orion took a step towards the door.

"I'll go talk to him." he said while looking back.

"Want me to help?" Liara asked as she took a step towards him, but the Bot made a 'stop' like gesture in return.

"It's alright, I've got this. You should make a start on that Intel." he replied, earning a nod from her. With that Orion left the shuttle-bay, with Rodimus heading that way too.

"I should get back to the CIC, Liara keep me apprised on your progress."

"Of course Commander." she replied as the Elite Spectre left took his leave.

"Want a hand going through that Intel Liara?" Nightracer asked, gaining a smile from the Asari.

"Sure." she replied as the two started for the door, with Shen in pursuit.

"I'll go see what Smokescreen and Grunt are up too?"

And with that the group all left the shuttle-bay.

Orion arrived on deck three and stepped out into the corridor, hoping he would find his cousin there since a passing crewman on the previous floor had seen someone of Quickstrike's description heading for elevator. The blue haired Bot checked the Mess, the starboard observation room and the Infirmary, saying a quick Hi to Red-Alert as he did but still did not find Quickstrike.

' _Okay, there is only one place left on this deck he could go if he wanted to be alone._ ' he thought as he walked through the corridor to the door labelled 'Port observation lounge'.

He opened the door to reveal a dimly lit room with several chairs, two couches and a poker table at it's furthest wall. The only real light to enter the room was from the massive window that showcased the ocean of stars beyond the Normandy's hull. And it was there that Orion spotted Quickstrike, the Bot was standing there and looking out at the stars in silence, until he saw his cousin's reflection in the glass.

"If you don't mind Orion, I would like to be alone right now." he said calmly while keeping his attention on the view in front of him, but the blue haired Bot merely entered the room with the door closing behind him, sealing out the light of the corridor and darkening the room once again.

"I am so sorry Quickstrike, I was wrong about her, and I am sorry. I wish we could have brought her with us." the Bot replied with regretful tone in his voice.

"I still can't believe that there wasn't any other way, we didn't have to leave her back there." the blonde Autobot said back as he looked over his shoulder to Orion, who could see the Bot's eyes were slowly welling up.

"Ser-Ket saw no other way out of it, what she did...she did to protect us...to protect you. She didn't want you to die on that planet, she loved you." Orion replied, gaining a knowing look from his cousin.

"I heard her whisper it into your ear when Shen and myself were carrying you." he added, making Quickstrike nod in return.

"I know, I heard it myself. While I was unconscious, I heard a mixture of sounds echoing around me. They were faint and hard to make out, until suddenly everything went quiet and then the sweetest voice I had ever heard spoke. 'I love you...goodbye'." the Bot replied as he looked back out of the window, but as he said that last sentence, Orion could see there was far more meant in those words for Quickstrike.

"You love her."

"Yes..." the blonde Autobot replied, as he nodded back.

"We only knew each other for several days, but in that time I had to come to care for her more than..." he said until he felt himself being overcome by his grief and stopped, letting silence fall in the room. But Orion joined his cousin's side and placed a supportive hand on his shoulder, to let the Autobot know he was not alone as he wiped a stray tear from his cheek with his hand.

"What is it?" the blue haired Bot asked.

"I just wish I had told Ser-Ket how I felt, what if she'd..." Quickstrike began to say before Orion cut him off, not allowing his cousin to finish that sentence.

"She knew how much you felt for her Quickstrike, she knew through your experiences with her before we arrived, and how you stood by her side during my...you know." the young Darby said with a regretful expression, the memory of how treated the former Predacon was still fresh in his mind and it certainly was not his proudest moment.

"...and finally in the way you wanted to stay behind with her, despite what that would entail. Ser-Ket knew you loved her Quickstrike."

Everything again went quiet as the blonde Bot thought on Orion's words, until he finally turned round and faced his cousin, with a look of acceptance on his face.

"Your right Cuz, thanks." he replied, gaining a nod in return from the blue haired Bot.

"So what do I do know, go home and sit by my Mother's side until she wakes?" he then asked.

"You could do that, but...what do you want to do?" Orion asked in return.

"I...I want to keep fighting...for Ser-Ket and for my Father." Quickstrike replied as his face became serious as he looked back out at the stars.

"Then in that case I will tell Rodimus that you'll join my team, we can honour them both by defeating the Predacons and ruining whatever plans they have."

The blonde Bot nodded in return as Orion turned back towards the door.

"Want to come with me to the CIC?"

"I will in a bit, but first I just want to be alone with my thoughts." Quickstrike replied.

"Alright, take your time." the blue haired Bot said back before he opened the door, letting the light of the corridor re-enter the room.

"Thanks Orion." his cousin said back, earning a nod from him before he walked out. The door then closed, darkening the room again as Quickstrike looked out of the window at the stars once more.

"I love you Ser-Ket." he said in a whisper as another single tear ran down his cheek again.

Meanwhile the rain was coming down hard on the long grass of Omicron, while a mass of Terracons stood together in a huddle. Most of then were looking towards the center of the group, almost as if something of great value was located at that location. But there were a few stragglers at the outer edges who looked back at city and the massive cloud of smoke that was billowing from the site where the communications tower used to stand.

"We have incoming." one of the troops shouted as a shuttle suddenly landed in the area, its hatch opening to reveal Rip-Claw standing at the exit.

"Commander Rip-Claw, you are hurt." the Terracon closest to the Femme observed as she stepped out from the confines of the small transport, wearing a bandage around her head.

" I am fine, my body is healing perfectly fine. I simply have a headache from some Asari who decided to hit me with a Server a few times, that's all." she answered in a sarcastic tone, earning a worried expression from the man.

"I meant no disrespect sir."

"Well your not the one who has to explain all of this to Lord Galvatron...are you? So please tell me we have something to cushion the blow?" she replied, gaining a sly smile and nod from the Terracon.

"We certainly do Commander." he said back before he waved his hands, making the other Cons separate and reveal what lied at their feet at the center of the horde. The Femme's frown turned into a smile as she looked down at the site.

"Well I say...is she alive?"

"She has suffered multiple injuries, but yes...she is still alive." the soldier said back.

"Excellent, get her on board the Achilles and patch her up. Lord Galvatron will wish to see this traitor himself." Rip-Claw replied as she looked down at the unconscious and bloodied form of Ser-Ket, lying down in the muddy grass.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

It had been a few hours since she had been captured, but Aria sat in her cell and stared with a blank expression straight ahead at the force field that was covering her one and only way out, but it wasn't escaping that she was thinking of...it was vengeance. The Asari was so fixated and caught up in her own thoughts, that she did not notice that Arcee was staring at her from the cell the Femme was sharing with her spark-mate.

"Aria, how are you holding up?"

"Absolutely fine." the former Omega leader replied coldly while keeping her attention on the wall, which was puzzling the Femme somewhat.

"I see, well if you need to talk.."

But before she could finish, Aria looked over and Arcee could see the anger in her eyes.

"I appreciate what you are trying to do Arcee, but I am fine. I am simply waiting for our hosts to return." the Asari replied candidly before looking past the Femme to the Prime sitting beside her, a confused expression appearing on her face.

"What is he doing?"

This made Arcee turn her attention to Jack who was staring at his only remaining hand, he looked like he was looking at it with a very focused expression as he kept himself fixated on his appendage.

"Jack, what are you doing?" Arcee asked with a similar expression to Aria, who was looking at Jack too who was now clenching his hand into a fist and closing his eyes.

"Jack?" she asked again, finding this behaviour strange from her lover.

"Hey Prime, what's with the constipated look over there?" Aria then asked, earning a slight smirk from him.

"Sorry, but if you both could just stay quiet for a moment." he replied while keeping his arms closed and fist tightly clenched.

"Why, what are you doing?" the Femme asked.

"Just trying something, I'm not sure if it will even work." the Prime said back which gained a look from his spark-mate, one that told him she did not buy it.

"Your going to have to do better than that Jack."

"Okay, you know that my Prime armour..." he began to say while gesturing to the very outfit he was still wearing, earning a nod from the Femme who glanced at it and noticed how damaged it was.

"...allows me to summon a holographic recreation of both the Star-Saber and the Skyboom Shield.

"Yes Jack, what are you getting at?." Arcee said back with an impatient tone, one that was reciprocated by Liara with a look.

"We have both seen this Prime."

"...yeah, and I am generally left handed. So that is the hand that gets the Saber. But I think I can summon it to my right hand." he said with an enthusiastic tone while holding his clenched hand before him, gaining a look of surprise from the women.

"How did you figure that out?" Arcee asked.

"Back when I was temporarily allied with MECH in an effort to stop the Quintessons, we boarded one of their ships to gain Intel. Now during our escape, I used the Skyboom Shield to protect Miranda...but I summoned it to my left hand."

"So you think that if you could do that with the shield, that it should work with the Star Saber too." the Femme asked, gaining a nod from Jack.

"Exactly, so I just need a minute to focus."

"But in your current condition..., I mean using the Star Saber has an effect on your body even when you don't charge it up. So with what you have gone through..." Arcee replied with a concerned look on her face, but Jack gave her a reassuring smile.

"Arcee, I am feeling stronger now than I did earlier. And this might be our only chance to escape, but we need to do this together." he said back, before looking over to Aria who nodded in return but the Prime could see that she had something else in mind...and that was troubling.

"Aria, I want you to know that 'we' want to see Galvatron pay for our son's...death too. But if we have any hope of escaping, then we have to put that aside until we are in a better position to do so. We can't afford to let revenge cloud our senses, so I need 'your word' that you won't try to kill Galvatron now."

The Asari narrowed her eyes at the Prime, letting him know that she wasn't happy with the terms but he wasn't about to take no for answer.

"Aria, I swear that we will help you take Galvatron down and make him pay for the crimes committed against the Federation, Omega and... 'us'. Surely we have proven ourselves enough for you to trust us?"

The Prime and the Omega Leader just looked at each other as Arcee watched, for she knew exactly how strong the pull of revenge was and what it takes to ignore it for the greater good. As did Jack, but then again...he is a Prime. They do not have the luxury of ignoring the bigger picture.

"Alright Prime, I'll do it your way." Aria then said, earning a supportive smile from both Spark-mates before the Prime returned his attention to his hand, clenching it tightly and focusing on it alone.

"Don't know how long this wil..." he started to say before the sight of the holographic Star-Saber blade materialised, glowing with a gentle blue hue which silenced the Prime and earned wide eyed expressions from both women.

"Well I'll be damned." Aria said, while Arcee smiled at Jack.

"It worked, wait...how do you feel?" she said, as she suddenly switched from impressed to mother Hen mode.

"I feel fine." Jack replied before getting to his feet, quickly followed by the Femme and Asari.

"Be ready, who knows how many guards are stationed on the other side of that door." he added before swinging the blade at the force-field and slicing a a cut through it, which made the energy crackle as the cut expanded and then brought the entire field down in an instant. Which was followed by a siren blaring out of the inter-com while the room's illumination changed to a flashing red hue.

"Prisoners have escaped! Prisoners have escaped!" the Nemesis computer spoke calmly as Jack and Arcee left their cell.

"Arcee, open Aria's cell door." the Prime said back, earning a nod from the Femme who looked back at him And spotted two Terracons entering the room.

"Jack! Behind you!"

Darby saw this and immediately and with fluid movement, stabbed the saber into the chest of the enemy right in front of him. And before the other could raise his weapon quickly enough, the Prime removed the blade, spun around and sliced off the other's head. Both corpses fell to the ground, just as Aria's force field came down, allowing the Asari to walk out and give Jack an impressed smile.

"Not bad, one arm or two. You've still got it."

"He's my Prime." Arcee affectionately added, earning a loving smile from Jack.

"Now, could you get this thing off me?" the Asari then asked, while gesturing to the Biotic clamp around her neck.

"Hold still." Jack then said before perfectly slicing the device into two pieces that fell to the ground, earning a relieved smile from her.

"Thank you."

"Come on, I know the way off this ship." he replied as Arcee picked up one of the guns and the trip left the Brig.

Meanwhile on the Nemesis bridge, Galvatron was looking around with a curious grin as the lights continued to flash the colour red and the inter-com continued with the computer's warning.

"Interesting, that Prime is more resourceful than I thought." he said while Six-Shot and Lazerback stood at either side of him.

"My Lord, I have called for extra squads of Terracons to guard all vital systems." the former said with a slightly panicked expression.

"And I have sent out Stalker and Terracon teams to recapture the Prisoners." the latter added, but Galvatron shook his head in return.

"You worry too much Six-Shot, the Prime won't try anything as bold as that. And you can call off your squads Lazerback, I know where they are heading..." the Predacon Lord replied, before turning round and walking past them both.

"..and I will deal with them personally." he added, earning surprised expressions as they watched him leave the room.

"Lord Galvatron…" the Terracon manning the Nemesis's sensor array said aloud, gaining the Predacon's attention as he stopped short of the door and looked over to him.

"Omega reinforcements are coming through the space bridge." he added as he brought up the information on the main holo-screen for everyone to see.

"What is the status of those ships?" Galvatron asked.

"Their weapon systems are fully powered, but it seems that they have just stopped short of our front lines. None of our ships have reported being targeted."

The Predacon Leader smiled in return as he looked up at the holo-screen.

"That is a welcoming sign, that they are indecisive of what they should do. Let us hope that they continue to do so for just long enough for me to subdue their leader once again, the next part of my plan requires her presence" he replied before he then opened the door and exited the bridge, leaving all on the bridge somewhat confused as they returned to their duties.

A several decks below, another Terracon fell to the ground in a bloody heap as Jack, Arcee and Aria ran past and down the corridor, leaving yet another squad of Predacon troops dead in their wake.

"So this is the way to the escape pods?" the Asari asked, gaining a nod from the older Darby leading the way.

"Yes, the Nemesis was meant to be the new Autobot flagship. So I made sure to familiarise myself with it's layout and systems. The escape pods are on the deck above us, so we need to access the maintenance ducts on this floor to gain entry to deck and it is just down this corridor."

The trio ran down the corridor until they came to a T-junction, earning a look of confusion from the women.

"Which way Jack?" Arcee asked, gaining a knowing look from her Spark-mate.

"Left…I think." he replied with a smirk, which made the Femme roll her eyes in response.

"Very funny…" she said as they turned the corner and ran straight into another group of Terracons.

"Scrap!" the blue haired Femme exclaimed as the enemies opened fire which should of riddled the group with bullets, but Aria managed to create a biotic barrier which shielded them from harm. Then Arcee opened fire with her rifle as Jack charged in and disarmed the closest Terracon by slicing his arm off, and then driving the saber into it's heart. Then suddenly three more Terracons appeared, those these ones looked more feral and beast-like.

"What the hell are they?" Arcee said in a confused tone as the animal-men rushed the group but Jack merely smiled as one launched itself at him, only for the Prime to charge the Star-Saber which glowed bright blue as he swung it, cutting the creature right down the middle and splitting it into two halves. Another one jumped at Aria, who just held out her hand and channelled her biotic energy which stopped the creature in midair. She then saw the last one pounce at the Autobot Femme as she shot it several times. so she then threw the captive beast into it, sending both of the modified Terracons into the wall.

"Thanks," Arcee replied, earning a nod from Aria.

"Your welcome."

Jack meanwhile had found the hatch leading to the maintenance tube and opened it, revealing a ladder inside a tightly compact tube.

"Aria, you first." he said as the women joined him, earning a curious look from the Asari.

"Why? I don't know where we should go."

"Firstly, we are just going up to the next floor. Secondly, you can create a barrier to protect us if we happen to come across another patrol as we exit this tube." the Prime replied. Aria though instead of arguing, just accepted his reasoning and nodded before climbing into the hatch and climbing the ladder.

"Ladies first." Jack then said with a smile, earning an eye roll from the Femme.

"You just want to look at my bum as we climbing the ladder."

The older Darby feigned a look of innocence at that comment.

"Who…me?" he replied, but the Femme simply cocked her head and gave him a knowing smile.

"I know you too well…" she said back before climbing into the tube.

"..Enjoy the view," she added, making the Prime's smile grow a little wider as he then followed her.

"I will." he replied as he then closed the hatch behind her and started to climb the tube's ladder with them.

On the deck in question, a patrol of Terracons moved the corridor with their weapons ready as they kept an eye out for any sign of the escapees. The group walked past a hatch which then slowly opened to reveal Aria who climbed out while holding her hand out in front of her, which glowed blue with biotic energy. She noticed the Terracons walking out of sight and then gestured to the others below her before climbing out into the corridor.

"So where now?" the Asari asked as Jack and Arcee joined her, the Femme re-equipping her weapon as her lover activated the holo Star-saber again.

"Follow this corridor until we get to another T-junction and then take a right hand turn…" he started to say before suddenly more Terracons turned the corner right behind the group and immediately aimed their weapons at them, making Arcee and Aria ready themselves for another fight. But instead of opening fire, the enemy troops simply backed away and disappeared the way they had arrived, leaving Arcee confused.

"What the...why didn't they fight us?" the Femme asked with a disbelieving tone that was mirrored in the looks of her companions as they stared back utterly dumbstruck.

"I don't know..." Jack started to say before being interrupted by the sound of someone clapping behind them, which made the trio turn around and see Galvatron standing behind them.

"I feel I have to congratulate you on your escape attempt, even if it has failed...because truthfully I never saw it coming." he gloated, earning a look of hatred from Aria while Jack and Arcee looked a little more cautious while noticing that no Terracons were accompanying the Predacon Leader.

"He is facing us alone." Arcee observed, gaining a nod from him.

"That is correct, for I do not need backup to deal with the three of you." he said before an evil smile appeared on his face as he clenched his hands into fists, which infuriated Aria, who's own fists began to glow with biotic energy.

"You have taken everything from me Galvatron, so the most I can do is wipe that smile off your face." she replied before performing a biotic charge at the Predacon as Jack tried and failed to stop her.

"Aria wait!" he shouted, but the Asari was already through to Galvatron who suddenly had a purple glow of his own and thrust his hand forward and caught the female round her throat, stopping her in his tracks.

"Have you not learned from your mistakes back on Omega, or do you need another lesson?" he said before punching her repeatedly as her companions could only watch, since the Asari was blocking their line of fire. The Enemy Leader then threw her to the ground hard, making her grimace before she tried to recover. Arcee immediately fired her weapon at the Predacon Lord, who dodged it and took cover in a nearby doorway. The Femme then moved closer, while keeping her finger on the trigger tightly so that the weapon's fire would keep Galvatron pinned behind his cover.

"Jack, get Aria!" she shouted, earning a nod from her Spark-mate who raced over to the Asari and helped her to her feet. Meanwhile as the Arcee kept firing at the doorway, a sudden flash of green light was emitted from within it that confused the Femme as she decided to move closer.

"What was that?" Aria asked while breathing heavily as she held on to the Prime's shoulder as he got her to his feet.

"I don't know, but that was foolish to just attack him on your own." he replied with a disappointed tone, gaining an angry look from her.

"He was blocking our escape route, what else were we supposed to do?" she spat back but before the Prime could answer, Arcee gained their joint attention.

"Guys, we have a problem."

They both looked over to the Femme.

"What is it?" Jack asked, gaining an gesture from the Autobot who pointed to the now empty doorway.

"He's gone."

"Then lets get moving before he comes back." Aria suggested as Jack looked between both women with an unsure look.

"He must have used an internal ground bridge." he answered just as another bright green flash appeared behind the Prime and Asari, who were suddenly sent flying into Arcee by a hit that felt like a sledge hammer. The three were knocked to the ground as Jack who was the first to recover, looked over his shoulder to see Galvatron standing in the wake of another ground-bridge portal which then closed up behind him, he had a smug expression on his face as he stared down at the Prime who got back to his feet while Arcee was still recovering and Aria was in a slump on the ground.

"What are you going to do Prime? Attack me with the one arm you have left?" he gloated, earning a confident smile from the Darby.

"Something like that." he replied as he then swung his arm towards the Predacon leader, who's expression changed from smug to shocked as he witnessed the holo Star-Saber suddenly materialise before it hit him, sending Galvatron into the wall behind him. Jack then took the initiative and moved in to hit the Predacon while he was recovering, swinging the blade down at him. But the Enemy Leader suddenly recovered and caught Jack's arm in his hand, and then stared into the surprised Prime's eyes as his own began to glow purple.

"You will pay for that!" he spat before twisting Jack's arm, making him cry out in pain before punching the Autobot Leader in the chest. This sent him back into the wall with thud as it winded him, and Jack dropped to his knees. Meanwhile Arcee was getting back to her feet, but was sent back to the floor as Galvatron punched her in the face while walking over to Jack and Aria. He then grabbed the Asari and threw her into another wall before turning his attention to Jack who was still weak.

"Your turning out to be more trouble than your worth…" he said while grabbing the Prime by the throat and lifting him off the ground.

"..So I think it is time to kill you." he added while preparing to make the killing blow, as his fist glowed with purple energy. Jack though who was struggling to breath under the vice-like grip of the Predacon, recognised the purple energy in his enemy's eyes and fist. Bringing back memories of someone else the Prime had defeated decades before.

"…Unicron?" he muttered under his breath as Galvatron, poised to strike was suddenly stopped.

" **Galvatron, d** **o not kill the Prime...** " the voice of the Chaos Bringer echoed in his mind, earning a surprised and confused expression from the Predacon.

"...because if you do, the prophecy will never come about."

' _What prophecy?_ ' Galvatron thought.

" **You have yet to read from the Covenant!** " Unicron replied with an annoyed tone, earning a begrudged sigh from the Predacon.

' _Very well, I will do that...after this._ ' he thought, knowing fully well that the Aeon would hear him. He then looked down at the large cut which the holo Star-Saber had left on his chest-plate, and then at Jack.

"It is only fair that I return the favour Prime." he said before grabbing hold of the chest-plate of his Prime armour which he then ripped off in one quick motion, before dropping him back to the floor just as a squad of Terracons came round the corner and stopped at his side.

"Lord Galvatron, Commander Six-Shot sent us to aid you." one of them said in an enthusiastic tone.

"Take these two back to the Brig and place them in separate cells, but be sure to remove the remainder of his armour first." Galavatron replied as he gestured to Jack and Arcee before dropping the damaged Prime's chest-plate on the floor, like it was a piece of scrap metal.

"Yes My Lord." the Terracon replied before he and the other troops walked over to the spark-mates and escorted them away.

"Aria..." Jack said back while the Asari was left at Galvatron's feet, with the Predacon looking down at her.

"Now Aria, we have an appointment to keep." he said as she looked up and saw the tyrannical expression on his face.

On board the bridge of one of the Omega cruisers, a crew made up of Asari, Turian, Salarian and Vorcha were working at all the terminals as a Human Commander sat in the Captain's chair.

"Sir, we are receiving a transmission from the enemy." the Turian at the communications station stated.

"Put it on the main screen." the Commander replied and then just a second later, Galvatron was seen by all on the holo-screen in front of them. In fact the Predacon Lord could be seen by all Omega ships, colonies and outposts as their crews and populations stopped what hey were doing and turned their attention to the message.

"This is Galvatron, Lord of the Predacons, And I am speaking to the entire Omega Syndicate, for I have a proposal I wish to share with you all. By this point you should already have heard of the attack on the Federation Capital of New Iacon on Earth by my forces, that act was to reveal our strength and intentions to the rest of the galaxy. And now here I stand on Omega itself..." the Predacon "Leader spoke as the camera zoomed out to show that he truly was on board the station, standing before the entrance to Afterlife.

"...after taking down the one that has subjugated you for all these years through fear."

As everyone watched Galvatron speak, suddenly another person was pushed out into view of the camera. Falling to their knees in front of the Predacon Lord, who looked down at the prisoner with contempt.

"Feast your eyes on the one who took away your freedom and replaced it with her own twisted ideals...Aria T'Loak." Galvatron exclaimed as he grabbed the person by the neck and lifted her off the ground so that the camera could see the Asari's face. This image created a wave of emotion to spread itself across Omega's territories, as everyone gasped in shock at the sight of the beaten and broken Aria.

"I have taken control of her forces here at Omega, they have all sworn loyalty to myself and now I am offering this chance to the rest of you. Are you not tired of living under the rule of one that will not take take you to your true potential, one that is content to sit on what she has and not try to build upon it. The Omega syndicate controls virtually half of this galaxy, yet it never occurred to Aria to expand and take control of it all. That is where I plan to take Omega, since my Predacons have left the Federation's Autobots in disarray and taken their own leader as a prisoner." Galvatron added as a screen appeared next to him showing footage of Jackson Prime and Arcee in their respective cells. This image made everyone watching talk amongst themselves, since the very sight of the Prime captured was something they could not believe they had just seen.

"Warriors of Omega, join me and my Predacons and I promise that the galaxy will be ours."

The Predacon Leader then looked down at Aria and equipped his pistol.

"To show you that my resolve is absolute, I will leave her fate to you. What should become of Aria T'Loak? Does she die or live?"

Suddenly the communications terminal onboard the Nemesis was overcome by an onslaught of messages, which stunned the Terracon as he viewed them on his holo-screen.

'Kill her.'

'She never held our interests above her own.'

'All she cared about was her station and controlling it's military that was supposed to support us, what about our colonies that she said she would stand by.'

'Let her die.'

'The only people to get a better life than us were those on that station and that was due to Aria's single-minded Turian wretch.'

All the messages had a similar tone and choice of words to them and so the Terracon transmitted the messages to Galvatron's holo-tool, and he skimmed through them and saw the answer clearly before looking down at the Asari.

"Aria T'Loak, 'your people' have spoken." he said as he pointed the gun at her head.

"Any last words?"

The former leader of Omega looked up at the Predacon and spat at him in disgust.

"I will see you again Galvatron..." she replied as her eyes met his, showing no fear for what was about to happen.

"...because you will ultimately fail and di..." she started to say right before he pulled the trigger and shot a bullet clear through her head, splashing blood onto the floor as her body fell to the ground limp.

"I don't think so." he replied with a smirk before turning his attention back to the camera.

"Aria is dead, her reign is over. Now you are free to take a hold of the destiny she had denied you, for together we can claim this galaxy for ourselves and become our own masters." the Predacon Leader said, earning cheers and applause from the masses. From the ships that were that used to be in a standoff with the Predacon vessels, to the colonies that lied at the very edge of the Terminus systems that bordered with dark-space, everyone bought into Galvatron's words and were looking forward to an area of conquest and wealth, something that had been sorely missing under Aria's reign.

"Now I ask the ships that are with us now, join us in destroying the last remainder of that Asari...her beloved space station."

Galvatron then had a ground-bridge open up behind him, stepped through it and back on to the bridge of the Nemesis.

"Report!" he said, as he walked back to his spot over looking everyone on the catwalk.

"Our ships are taking up firing positions around the station sir, and also the Omega ones are doing the same." a Terracon replied from his post, earning a smile from the Predacon Lord as he looked out of the ship's canopy, and saw the Omega station coming into view as the Nemesis moved into position.

"Have all ships sync up with us and prepare to fire." he ordered, gaining a nod from the Comms Terracon who then got on with the task.

Meanwhile back in the Brig, Jack and Arcee sat as close as the energy barrier between their cells would allow. Their attention was on a holo-screen which was showing the event, it was being controlled by one of two Terracons that had been tasked with guarding the two Autobots.

"So that's all it takes for Galvatron to convince them to follow him." Arcee said, while the Prime continued to watch.

"It's not hard to see why they would turn against Aria, she didn't exactly govern the alliance fairly. She was always more concerned with Omega than with the colonies and outposts of those under her 'flag'. It was a powder-keg kept from igniting by only her feared reputation, since the mercenaries, pirates and slavers would rather attack pillage and destroy. But Aria wanted them to protect her interests."

"And now that she is out of the way, everyone is free to do what they want and worse still, Galvatron is encouraging it." the Femme replied before looking directly at Jack who still had a worried expression on his face.

"What is it Jack?"

"There was something I saw in his eyes during our fight, something I did not believe I would see again." he replied somewhat cryptically to Arcee, earning a curious look from her.

"What did you see?"

"His eyes glowed purple and for a moment I swore I felt a presence there with us..." the Prime replied while his Spark-mate just looked at him, waiting for an answer.

"..I swore it was...Unicron." he finished, as her eyes widened at that name.

"Unicron, but he is dead. You told me Primus's sacrifice destroyed him."

"I know and at that time, I believed it too. But now I can't be sure." Jack replied before they both turned their attention to the holo-screen, which now showed the Omega station nestled in the void of space.

"All ships report ready my Lord." Six-shot stated as he stood beside the Terracon manning the Comms station, as the Predacon Leader stood at his own station and looked out at the symbol of Omega, that has stood for so many years and yet was about to be destroyed. He then tapped his com-link.

"Patch me into all ships." he said, earning a nod from that Terracon who typed into his terminal's holo-interface before gesturing to Six-shot, who looked back at his leader.

"You are on my Lord."

"This is Galvatron, all ships...fire at will!"

And suddenly every single ship, be it former-Omega or Predacon, opened fire on the station with every weapon their ships had installed. The exterior of the station was rattled by external explosions which shook it right through to it's foundations. The civilians still trapped in what was left of Sanctuary looked around as they felt and heard the impacts of the weapons, parents pulled their children into their arms tightly and whispered sweet lies into their ears to keep them calm, despite the horrifying truth that was dawning for them. Jack and Arcee could only watch as the station was devastated by weapons fire as hundreds of torpedoes and cannon blasts impacted the structure until it could not handle anymore. And at that moment the Bottom of the station exploded from the Bottom and the fireball travelled upwards, tearing through the station as it killed the remaining civilians and then burnt through the area where Aria's corpse lay until the entire Omega station exploded in magnificent fashion, leaving only a debris field in its wake.

Galvatron looked out of the bridge's canopy and smiled as he witnessed the destruction, revelling in what he had achieved in that moment.

"Sir, the Omega Station has been destroyed." the Terracon manning the weapons station stated, as the Predacon Leader turned to look at Six-Shot.

"Welcome everyone to our ranks Six-Shot, and tell them that our conquest of the galaxy will begin very shortly."

"Yes sir, and what of the meantime?" the Con replied, while his Lord began to head for the exit.

"Begin repairs on the ships that need them, I will be in my quarters for the next hour." Galvatron said back, as he remembered something that he had been putting off.

"Yes sir." Six-Shot answered enthusiastically as he watched the Con leader leave the room, for felt excited for what the Predacons would do next…now that they all were going to go on the offensive against their enemy.

**PRIME EFECT 4**

Galvatron entered his quarters and looked over to the Covenant of Primus which was lying on his desk, exactly where he had left it. It was hard to believe that such a small object could answer the questions that had plagued him since his creation, but he snapped himself out of his thoughts and picked up the Covenant.

' _This moment has been delayed long enough._ ' he thought as he opened it to its first page, looking at the glass page as Cybertronian letters flowed down the page like coding, making no sense whatsoever to the Predacon before he turned the page again...and then again...and then again. He could feel his spark beginning to burn with anger as his patience was threatening to desert him, since he had looked through the book's contents for nearly fifteen minutes and had only seen unreadable code on every page.

"Why is this not showing me anything?" he snapped and spoke loudly out into his room, bit the Aeon refused to answer and this only made the Predacon Lord angrier as he continued to flick through the pages. But then as he turned another page, something caught his eye and he turned it back to see that the code-like writing had begun to change and form words, and then sentences right before him. His eyes were fixed on its contents as he found he could now read it's passage.

' _When the Vessel born from_ _unnatural_ _ways, uses 'his' blade and the spark of 'his' equal at the temple of rebirth, hidden where the Galaxy began. The Bringer of Chaos will return and everything will again be brought into darkness...forever._ '

Galvatron looked down at the text, taking in the words as he re-read the passage again and again.

" **You now know what you must do...my Galvatron.** " Unicron suddenly spoke up in the Predacon's mind.

"I am to bring you back, but it said 'vessel'?" he said back.

" **Indeed, when successful I will be reborn as you. We will be one.** " the Aeon replied, earning a thoughtful expression from Galvatron.

"...be one?"

" **And together we will crush our enemies and restore this galaxy to how it should be.** "

"Alright, so now that I have read this prophecy, that is about the two of us. I bet you can now give me some details on it, because I doubt that you know nothing of such things." Galavtron replied inquisitively.

" **And you would be correct my Galvatron, you are by far the smartest Herald of mine that I have met.** " Unicron replied, while the Predacon Lord looked back at the passage.

"The Prophecy mentions a spark that is your equal." the Con then said, thinking on the passage's meaning.

" **It is the spark of my deceased brother...Primus, and you already possess the very last piece of it.** " the Chaos Bringer replied.

"You mean the Matrix that Jackson Prime carries on his person. That is why you didn't want me to kill him..." the Predacon leader said back as he looked around his quarters.

" **Yes, for only one worthy can carry it. If the Prime was to be killed, the Matrix would not be going anywhere with us.** " Unicron replied.

"Then it is a blessing that we have one less thing to look for, but what is this blade and where do we find it and this temple of rebirth?" Galvatron then asked.

" **The blade that you seek belonged to me back when I was mortal** **with the rest of the Aeons,** **it is called the 'Chaos Edge'** **. But do not ask where it rests, for I do not remember.** "

"How is that possible?" the Predacon replied with a sarcastic tone.

" **You may be my Herald, but you would do well to remember who it is you are speaking too.** " the Chaos Bringer said back in an aggravated tone that surprised Galvatron who looked around again, because he could not be sure if he was really alone in his quarters.

"My apologies, but surely you can give me an idea about where to look? Since it is a very large galaxy out there."

" **There is nothing I can do to help you, but you now control a fleet large enough to search the entire galaxy. Use it to search for any power source that does not fit with the planet it is on, that is all I can say on that matter.** "

"And what about this temple?"

" **The temple is actually a device called the 'Infinite Combinatoric' and that it was built by Solus Prime**   **on the behest of Primus as a failsafe which could resurrect an Aeon whose life has been ended, she built it on the planet that he identified as the first planet born when the galaxy was created.** " the Aeon replied, earning a curious expression from Galvatron.

"How do you know of this much?"

" **From the Prime Megatronus, the one I managed to corrupt during one of my battles with the Thirteen. He was unaware of this as my influence which slowly overrode his consciousness, it was during this that I managed to learn where they would be and so chose a place far away from them where I could create my Reapers. I also learned other things, most of which could not help me before they finally defeated me. But as far as details on the device, that was all that Megatronus knew.** "

"I see….very well, I will use my resources to retrieve this Chaos Edge and find the Infinite Combinatoric. And with these I will fulfil the prophecy and bring you back." Galvatron exclaimed confidently.

" **I know you will not fail me Galvatron, go and lay the foundations for the age of Chaos.** " Unicron replied before the Predacon felt his presence fade away, until he was alone again.

Back on the bridge, Six-Shot was overseeing the Terracons there with him as Galvatron re-entered the room.

"My Lord, the entire former Syndicate has confirmed the Alliance with us, and they are ready to bring the Autobots and their Federation to their knees." the Commander said happily as the Predacon Leader joined him.

"Never mind that Six-Shot, I want as many ships as possible to be sent to all quadrants of the galaxy." he replied, earning a confused expression from Six-Shot.

"Uh…Sir, you mean to attack the Autobots don't you."

"No, I want them to scan for any peculiar power signature that does not match with known records. Understand?" he said back in a serious tone, with a look that said he was not going to take no for an answer.

"…Uh, of course my Lord." the Predacon said, though his face said different.

"What about the Autobots?" he then asked.

"What about them, they are in disarray and so pose no threat to us. Now go and complete my command." Galvatron said back before looking away towards the debris field on the other side of the canopy's glass, while Six-Shot began to walk away and back toward the other Terracons.

"Yes, Lord Galvatron."

' _What in the Allspark has changed in him, Galvatron wanted war…and now he wants a scavenger hunt?_ ' the Predacon thought before looking over his shoulder and looked back with an angry stare, but Galvatron had his thoughts elsewhere as he looked out at the void of space.

' _We will prevail my Unicron, we will have Chaos.'_


	28. Chapter 28

Rodimus stood in front of the galaxy map in the CIC, looking at the information that was being shown at key points on the display. They were ship positions and status reports from other Autobot vessels in all quadrants of the galaxy, and a number of them were coming together as a fleet and preparing to hit Omicron so that they could liberate it from the Predacons. But the Commander's attention was caught by the sound of the elevator doors opening behind him, so he turned to see Orion entering the Normandy's nerve center.

"Orion, a moment please." he asked as he gestured for the younger Bot to join him, so the blue haired Bot did just that.

"How is Quickstrike?" Rodimus asked, the concern evident in his voice.

"Well first he found out that his Father had been killed and his Mother is in a coma, then loses the woman he loves who sacrificed herself to help us escape. He is hurting sir, but I know that he wants to be a part of this fight...for them. So I want him on my team." Orion replied, earning a nod from his superior.

"Very well Orion, he is all yours. So I guess that means the gang is back together then." he said back with a slight smile, earning a similar expression from the younger Bot.

"Yeah, its been a long time but yes it is."

"Well I could not ask for a better team to be a part of my crew, whatever the Predacons throw at us, I know we will be able to handle it." the Commander replied.

"Thank you Rodimus." the XO said back before noticing the galaxy map.

"So we now have full communications with the rest of the Autobots?"

"Yes, it came back the moment you regained control of the Comms Hub. And we are right now transmitting the data that Liara and Nightracer have been going through from the Predacon Intel, Dr T'Soni is certainly a very talented Asari, she is also very adept at analysing information. She has already gone through and uploaded the flight plans for the Predacon ships in this sector alone." the Commander replied while pointing at the data screen which just appeared over the bottom right corner of the galaxy map.

"She certainly is." Orion said back with an affectionate tone as he looked at the map, which did not go unnoticed by Rodimus who merely sighed and regained his XO's attention.

"I see." was all he said while the young Darby gave him a confused and slightly red-faced look.

"..uh...anyway, I think I will go and see if I can give them a hand. May I be excused?"

"Of course, though I think at this rate Liara will be done by the time you get there...have fun." Rodimus said back with a knowing smile, gaining a nod from Orion, who turned away and took a deep breath as he headed for the computer lab. But unbeknownst to him, Rodimus was looking over his shoulder at the Bot before gently shaking his head and returning his attention to the galaxy map.

"Young love.." he muttered to himself as he smiled.

As Orion entered the computer lab, he saw both Liara and Nightracer sitting at the main terminal with a large holo-screen being emitted in front of them. The Femme was watching as the Asari typed at the holo-interface, cataloging and analysing all the Intel that she could find in the data-pack that Ser-Ket had given them.

"Hey guys." the Bot said, making both women look over at him with a smile.

"It's going well, I have managed to detail a number of flight plans and attack details for a number of the Predacon vessels." Liara replied as the young Darby pulled up a chair beside them.

"What about the data on Cybertron? Ser-Ket was very clear about how important that was."

"I am just starting on that now, since there was no way for me to prioritise and choose what Intel I find. So all I can do is go through it in the order it is in." the Asari said back with a slightly aggravated tone.

"You are doing the best you can Liara, Rodimus justt informed me that you have already found a lot of Intel that will help our fleets against the Predacons." he said back with a supportive smile, earning a look of gratitude from her that Orion could swear was more affectionate than he was used too...not that he would complain.

"Thank you Orion." she replied with another smile and the two looked at each other for a moment.

"How is Quickstrike?" Nightracer asked, turning both their attention to the Femme.

"He wants to be alone right now, but I think he will be alright." Orion replied, earning a nod from both women.

"I wish I could tell him that the pain will pass…" Liara began to say, before the Autobot Femme jumped in.

"..Because you went through the same thing."

"Yes, with Shockblast. Seeing him murdered and reformatted into who he is now was an experience I would not wish on anyone, but it is a wound that will heal if you let it…given the time and help from those that care about you." the Asari replied, while looking over to Orion who knew what she meant.

"Well he doesn't want to stay cooped up on the Normandy, he wants to be a part of our fight." the Bot said, gaining a slight smile from Liara.

"That's a good sign."

"Wait, something has just appeared on the screen." Nightracer stated, earning the others attention as she pointed at the main screen. The Asari immediately turned back to the terminal and began typing as the young Darby watched.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I had a search running for any particular words that might lead to something useful for us, it has found several entries." Liara replied as a window appeared on the screen with a number of links highlighted in green, she then clicked on one and opened it.

"Interesting, this appears to be a transmission from Shockblast to Galvatron." the Asari added before a video image of the Cybertronian turned Predacon appeared on the holo-screen.

" _My liege, since I am unable to speak to you at this moment, I will instead leave this message for you so that you can contact me at your convenience. I have discovered a secret in the tunnels that Shockwave had created around the Predacon Facility, so that he was able to easier gain the CNA of the beasts corpses. But it is in these very tunnels that I have found something that changes everything we were led to believe about our distant ancestors, I cannot divulge any more information over this channel. Shockblast out._ "

And with that the video ended and left the trio to look at each other, each with the same curious expression on their faces.

"What the in the All-spark does that mean?" Nightracer asked with an annoyed tone.

"I don't know, but Ser-Ket did say that something big was happening on at Cybertron. Perhaps this is part of what she meant." Orion replied.

"So we are going to Cybertron then, like I said we should earlier?" Liara asked with a knowing look that Orion knew he would have a hard time arguing with.

"Yes, I am just going to inform Rodimus of what we have found." the Bot replied as he tapped his com-link, but the inter-com activated first and gained the trio's attention as the Commander spoke.

"Orion, this is Rodimus."

"Good timing Rodimus, we know where to go next..." the young Darby started to say back, before the Elite Spectre cut him off.

"That will have to wait, we have just picked up a transmission from Omega. You have to see it."

Suddenly their holo-screen reactivated, as the image of Galvatron standing before the entrance to After-life on Omega appeared before them.

" _This is Galvatron, Lord of the Predacons, And I am speaking to all of the Omega Syndicate for I have a proposal I wish to share with you all._ "

The trio just sat and watched as the Predacon Leader spoke before showing footage of Orion's parents in their cells, the sight of them bloodied, beaten and devoid of any of the respect and honour that they had earned in their lives. They were made to look like victims and that was not something he was used to seeing, which made the Bot's spark ache and blood boil. But then the attention shifted from the Prime and his Spark-mate as Galvatron then executed Aria in cold blood and gained control of the Omega Syndicate. This moment caught everyone off guard as the implications of this dawned on them all, even for a long moment after the transmission ended, they were all just staring at the now blank holo-screen.

"And here I thought we took the Predacons advantage away, now we find out that they have just gained control of the only other military that rivals our own." Nightracer said in disbelief, while Liara looked at Orion. She could see the pain in his eyes at seeing the state that his parents were in, so reached out and placed her hand on his in affectionate support.

"I'm sorry you had to see them like that Orion." she said in a gentle tone, gaining his attention as he looked back at her with his blue eyes.

"...yeah, but they are still alive. At least we know that, so there is still hope." he replied.

"Orion, that transmission was broadcast across the entire galaxy. Everyone saw it, and this has the Senate worried." Rodimus spoke via the inter-com to the trio.

"So the Predacons have the same military force as us now, so what." Nightracer said in a defiant tone, gaining surprised looks from both the blue haired Bot and Asari and even though they could not see him, the pair knew from the Commander's sudden silence that he had the same expression.

"...because we have an advantage over them now." the Femme added, having noticed their faces.

"Nightracer's right..." Orion then replied with a look that showed that he knew what she was getting on at.

"...Galvatron said during the transmission that his forces had left the Autobots in disarray, so he clearly has no idea that we have regained fleet wide communications."

"Or that we have Intel on their tactics and fleet movements." Liara replied.

"That is true, well you said that you have found something before I relayed the transmission to you?" Rodimus asked in a more hopeful tone.

"We should head for Cybertron, it appears that the Predacons have found something there that could be of great importance." Orion replied, gaining a nod from Liara.

"Not only that, but Cybertron is where it all started so it is a base of operations for them and they are manufacturing more Terracon troops there. So if it were put out of commission, that will be another advantage lost to them."

"Exactly." the blue haired Bot replied.

"Alright, I will brief Command on what our next mission is while they oversee the liberation of Omicron. Rodimus out." the Commander said back before deactivating the inter-com.

"Okay Liara, lets go over the details of the facility on Cybertron so that we have a mission plan to present to the others before we arrive at the planet." Orion then said, earning a nod from the Asari as she turned her attention to the terminal again and began typing on it, while the other two watched.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

On board the Nemesis, Galvatron was sitting in his quarters and looking at the specifications of the newest ships to join his forces from the former Omega Syndicate.

 _'I have to say, these vessels and their_ _armaments_ _are impressive.'_  he thought as he viewed each one. Things could not be going better for the Predacons right now, Galvatron had even managed to send off a number of ships on the mission to find the Chaos Edge, though he did not go into any real detail about what it is they are supposed to be looking for. That really annoyed Six-Shot who voiced his concerns over taking on a scavenger hunt when there are still the Autobots to contend with.

' _Well, he can disprove as much as he wants as long as he continues to follow my orders._ ' the Predacon Lord thought as he dwelled on the fact that Six-Shot was showing his disapproval in front of the others.

' _He should be more careful, to try and undermine my leadership in front of the others._ '

" **He is of no consequence Galvatron, if this Six-Shot interferes with our goals then you should eliminate him.** " Unicron spoke in his mind, surprising the Predacon.

' _If he does try such a thing, then I will._ '

Then suddenly the inter-com activated as the very person who they had just discussed, began to speak.

"Lord Galvatron, you have a transmission from Rip-Claw awaiting you."

"Very well Six-Shot, I will take it in here." Galvatron said back before deactivating the call and turning his attention to his terminal, typing on it's holo-interface before a holo-screen appeared and showed him the Predacon Femme.

"Rip-Claw report." he said, earning a weary expression from her in return.

"My Lord, we...have lost the Communications Hub." she said, earning a confused expression from her Leader, but then that soon changed as anger took hold and he narrowed his eyes at the Femme.

"What! How in the pit did you manage that?" he spat back.

"Ser-Ket and her pet Autobot managed to infiltrate the colony with the help of more Autobots, who sabotaged the communications network and but not before giving their forces use of their comms again." Rip-Claw replied, making Galvatron's spark burn even more.

"...but we did manage to drive the Autobots into retreat and capture Ser-Ket." she added, hoping to defuse the situation somewhat.

"I see, is there anything else I should know about the Autobots infiltration?" he asked under gritted teeth, wanting nothing more than to separate the Femme's head from her body at this moment.

"Not that I am aware of my Lord." she replied with tinge of uncertainty in her voice.

"On the off chance that you are wrong, I will ne..." the Predacon Lord said back before being cut off by the sound of alarms going off on Rip-Claw's end.

"What in the All-spark is that?" he spat in an aggravated tone.

"Our sensors have detected an Autobot fleet jumping into the system, they must be here to liberate this colony." the Femme replied as her tone became more panicky.

"How many ships?"

"Over fifteen ships compared to our five, we are outnumbered." Rip-Claw said back.

"Evacuate our forces from Omicron, and head for these coordinates." Galvatron replied as he typed the numbers into his terminal's holo-interface.

"What about the colony?" the Commander asked back.

"The Autobots want this colony back, fine they can have it. But I'll be damned if they get it back the way it is, just get yourselves out of there and bring Ser-Ket with you." the Predacon Leader snapped before deactivating the transmission and then reopening another.

"Galvatron to the 'Howling Wind', come in."

After a few seconds, a Vorcha appeared on the screen.

"My Lord Galvatron, how can we be of assistance?" he hissed.

"Your vessel is equipped with nuclear torpedoes, correct?" Galvatron replied, earning nod from the ship's captain.

"That is correct, our destroyer has a full complement. Why do you ask?"

"The Nemesis is going to open a space-bridge portal in front of your ship, I want you to arm and fire one of those torpedoes through it." the Predacon said back, earning a curious expression from the Vorcha.

"What is our target?"

"An Autobot colony. Will that be a problem?"

"Not at all, We have been hoping to use our nukes on something. Aria was always unsure what she could do with us, so our weapons have been collecting dust over the years. It will be good to finally get in on some bloodshed." the captain replied as a dark smile grew on his face, showing off his razor sharp teeth.

"Then prepare the torpedo and fire on my command." Galvatron replied, mirroring the other's expression.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile the Predacon evacuation was in full swing as Terracon troops retreated from the streets of Omicron City, disappearing onto the shuttles before they took off and flew up to the waiting cruisers as the Achilles waited just above them.

"How long until we have all Terracons back on board our ships?" Rip-Claw asked while sitting in the Captain's chair on the bridge.

"The last of the shuttles has just taken off now, and will dock with the Vanquish any second now." the Terracon manning the sensor array replied.

"Very good, have all ships break for high orbit and have their light-speed drives ready for immediate jump the moment we make that altitude." she replied, looking over to the minion at the Comms station, who nodded and began relaying her orders to the other ships.

As the cruisers left, the civilians left their homes and flocked into the streets, looking up and watching their former-occupiers running away as giant smiles grew on their faces while they saw the ships ascending into the early night sky. The crowd began cheering and celebrating as the enemy ships shrunk to tiny dots that then disappeared into the darkness above them.

The Autobot cruisers reached the planet just as their Predacon equivalent had reached high orbit and began firing their cannons at the enemy ships, which shields took the brunt of the assault while firing their own weapons back.

"All ships jump!" Rip-Claw commanded as of a sudden, the engines of all ships began to brighten greatly before in the blink of an eye, the enemy ships jumped to light-speed and were gone, leaving the Autobot vessels as the only ships in orbit over the planet.

"All ships, launch shuttles. Lets get boots on the ground down there." the Commander of the fleet said over the comms before a large group of Autobot shuttles then flew away from the cruisers and descended to the planet.

The celebrations in the streets were picking up pace as fireworks were being launched all over the city, colourful explosions of nearly every colour of the spectrum could be seen illuminating the sky above the city.

"Look, the Autobots!" one of the people exclaimed as he pointed up at the shuttles which came into view as they closed in on the colony, their glowing red Autobot insignias could be clearly seen the closer their got which made the crowds cheer even louder. Finally their nightmare of being occupied by a ruthless enemy, not knowing whether they would live to see tomorrow was now over. But just as one firework exploded in a illuminating shower of green sparks, suddenly a space-bridge vortex opened up in the sky at a very high altitude. It almost looked like a bright green star to the civilians on the ground who began looking at curiously, it even had the crews of the Autobot cruisers stumped.

"Is that one of ours?" was one of the questions being asked between the fleet's captains as they wondered where it had come from.

"No idea, but it is positioned directly over the center of the colony." another ship answered, then suddenly there was disturbance in the vortex as something came through from the other side and hurtled towards the ground.

"Daddy look, a shooting star." a young child said happily while pointing it out to his Father. But the older Man's eyes widened as he realised that it was heading their way and what it really was as it got closer.

"My god!" he exclaimed before quickly kneeling down and pulling his son in to his arms to shield him, while the same realisation quickly came to everyone else.

"What the..." the fleet Admiral could be heard saying over the Comms just as the projectile hit the ground, causing a blinding white flash that enveloped the immediate area and incinerated all there in a blink of an eye. The shuttles that were flying towards the city could see the mushroom cloud beginning to form as a shock-wave expanded in all directions, demolition everything else that had not been destroyed in the initial explosion. And before they could try anything, the shuttles suddenly failed and crashed into the ground. By the time the explosion was finished, there was very little left of Omicron City as it lay in the shadow of a massive mushroom cloud which reached up high into the sky.

On board the Normandy, Orion and Rodimus stood in the cockpit while Jetstorm opened up a space-bridge portal in front of the ship, preparing to fly the ship through.

"Commander, we are receiving a high priority message from Autobot Command." one of the crew said from her station, which was located in the tunnel like walkway which connected the cockpit to the CIC.

"Hold it until we have entered Cybertron space." Rodimus replied before turning his attention back to his pilot.

"Activate stealth mode and take us to Cybertron."

"Yes sir." Jetstorm replied as he worked the holo-controls before him, making the ship shimmer and fade to nothing as it passed through the event horizon of the portal and emerged on the other side. Orion and Rodimus looked out of the bridge's canopy to see the dead planet of Cybertron, the original home-world of the Cybertronian species directly ahead of them.

"Wow, This is the first time I have ever laid eyes on Cybertron." Orion said with a wide-eyed expression as both Bots saw the heavily battle-scarred and barren world, not noticing that Liara was approaching them from the CIC.

"Its never easy to look at, is it?" she asked, surprising them as they turned to face her.

"No, its not.." the Commander replied.

"I have seen the planet once before, and yet it still feels like the first time." he added before looking back to the crewman manning the comm station.

"Alright, lets hear the message."

The blonde haired woman nodded and tapped a sequence into her holo-interface and brought the inter-com to life around the cockpit.

"Commander Rodimus, I know you are on a stealth mission and therefore unable to reply to this message. But I am sorry to report that we have lost Omicron City, the Predacons were retreating as soon as our fleer arrived. Though it would appear that they were not about to just let us have the colony back, as they launched a Nuclear Torpedo which then obliterated the entire city, killing every Man, Woman and Child there, including the troops we sent down to secure it. The excess radiation is being blown over towards three of the closest population centers, so we are evacuating them now, minimising the body count as much as we can. I am sorry, we did not see this coming."

The message ended there as the cockpit became very quiet, as the Bots and Asari did not know where to look.

"They couldn't keep the planet, so they made sure we paid a heavy price for getting it back." Orion then said, the building anger evident in his voice.

"There hasn't been any Nuclear weapons in use by anyone for the last fifty plus years, since the Citadel Council outlawed them. Where did Galvatron even get his hands on one?" Liara asked, still in shock from hearing the news.

"Had to be one of the former Omega mercs, Autobot Intelligence knew that the Syndicate was in possession of Nuclear weapons but Aria had enough of a stranglehold around all of the Merc Leaders, that them using one was never going to be an issue." Rodimus replied.

"But now she is gone, Galvatron appears to have given them free reign " Jetstorm added, earning a pensive look from the Commander as he looked out toward Cybertron.

"Orion, get your team ready. Let's get down there and takes these guys down another notch." he then said as he looked back at his XO with a now determined expression, earning a nod in return.

"On our way." he replied before the pair turned around and headed for the elevator at the back of the CIC.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Shockblast stood at one of the many terminals that were scattered around the current lab he was in, which also housed large glass tanks filled with a yellow liquid that gave off a glow which only gave off a small amount of illumination to the already dimly lit room. The Predacon was looking at an image on the holo-screen of his holo-tool, which had been taken from one of the probes he had sent down into the deepest part of the mine. The expression on his face was that of someone who did not know what he was looking at, for what the probe had found was something that the Con was had not been expecting.

' _This set of bones looks like a Predacon, but...it isn't. This is not logical, there was only one race of Cybertronians before the Golden Age._ ' he thought as he changed the image to another set of bones and saw similarities to the previous one, but not the ones that the former owner...the Decepticon Shockwave had catalogued. And that wasn't the only problem that Shockblast had found, for his probe's sensors could pick up a strange anomalous reading just a couple of hundred feet lower than the deepest part of the mine.

' _Why have I not heard from Lord Galvatron yet? there is no logical reason for the lack of communication._ ' he continued as he checked his holo-tool and saw that he had not received a communicae from the Predacon Leader.

' _And why is it that I am thinking more and more like an emotionless machine, it is not logic..._ ' he then placed his hand to his fore-head, as he felt another headache coming on again. This had now become more than a daily occurrence for him, and the only reason Shockblast could think of was because of the memory download he had from the mind of that particular deceased Decepticon. Every single day since that moment, the Con has felt less like himself and that used to scare him. Recently though he had started to feel nothing about it and that would of scared him even more. But he was suddenly pulled from the presence of his thoughts as the holo-screen's visual changed to show a timer and table of calculations.

"Terracon cloning process eighty five percent complete." the computer stated, but Shockblast merely looked at the image with barely any interest before switching back to the Cybertronian bones he had been studying previously.

"Who were you?" he said to himself with a questioning tone before finally giving up for the moment, shutting down the terminal and walking out of the room.

Meanwhile Orion peeked around the corner of one of the a-joining corridors of the facility as the ground-bridge vortex closed behind him, Liara and Quickstrike, before gesturing to them that the coast was clear and carried on moving.

"I can't say how I feel about being back here." the Asari said with an uncertain tone as she looked up at the massive corridor they were currently in, which had been built for those Cybertronians who used to tower over most other life forms like the titans of legend. Orion looked back at her and could see it in her eyes that this though was not the reason, but because of the memories of what had happened the last time she had walked through this place which were full of horror and death.

"I'm sorry Liara, I did say you could stay on the Normandy and advise us over the com-link." he replied in an understanding voice, which earned a appreciative smile from the Asari.

"I know and I am thankful for that Orion, but I had to come back. It was something I just had to do."

"I understand but if it gets too much, just say the word and I will have a ground-bridge back to the Normandy opened for you." the blue haired Bot said back.

"Where are the Terracons? Don't you find it strange that we haven't come across a single patrol yet?" Quickstrike asked.

"You would think that after we rescued Liara from both the Predacons and the Shadow Broker back on Illium, that Galvatron would have increased security here." Orion replied.

"Let's just put it down to Predacon arrogance shall we." the blonde Autobot said as the trio arrived at a doorway that Liara recognised.

"This is the door to lab where I we found and awoke Galvatron." she stated as the memories of that day began to creep up on her, but Orion noticed the look on the Asari's face and placed his hand on her shoulder supportively. This brought Liara's attention to the Bot, forcing the memories back as she looked at his face.

"You alright?" he asked, his face showing nothing but concern for her well being.

"Yes, thank you." the Asari replied, earning a nod from Orion before he turned his attention back to the door.

"Okay, Liara stay with me. Quickstrike head to the other side so that we can cover the width of this door."

His cousin acknowledged with a nod as he then moved to the spot indicated and readied his weapon.

"We'll open the door and remain hidden behind this cover until we've determined who is in there." Orion then said after tapping is com-link and letting Quickstrike know without shouting it across the massive width of the door. Both Bot and Asari acknowledged him before Orion activated his holo-tool, and accessed the door's control panel high on the wall above them. The door then slid open with a slight screeching noise.

' _Someone forgot to oil these doors._ ' Quickstrike thought before he looked over to see his Cousin taking a peek into the next room.

"Clear." he then said while gesturing over to the blonde Bot before the trio then entered the lab, which was enormous.

"Seriously where is everybody?" Quickstrike said with a hint of frustration in his voice while Liara and Orion's attention was on the large Cybertronian terminal that towered over them.

"Want me to give up you a lift to reach the keyboard?" the young Darby asked jokingly, earning a smile from the Asari as she activated her holo-tool.

"That won't be necessary." she said back while creating a link with the computer.

"Okay, I am in and...okay!"

"What is it?" Orion asked as he and Quickstrike stood either side of her and looked at the holo-screen which appeared before them.

"This terminal has been cross linked with the databases of a good number of the secret labs that were believed to be scattered all over Cybertron. I have access to nearly every project that is filed here." she replied as the screen showed images and paragraphs of coding.

"What can't you access?" Quickstrike asked back.

"There is only one file and that is called 'Gemini', I can't open it. But I can download and decrypt it later, along with all the other projects here."

"Do it." the blonde Bot replied, earning a nod from Orion in agreement as the Asari did just that.

"So what other projects are there?"

"Project Synthergon, Project Pretender, Project Iacon, some that are just numbers and...Project Predacon."

"What's Project Predacon?" the Autobot Spectre asked, earning a nod from Liara as she opened that file which began showing images of ancient bones and lines of CNA, as well as concept images of what those beasts used to look like.

"That one looks like Skystalker." Quickstrike stated while his Cousin and the Asari recognised the other two beasts that appeared on screen.

"There are the ones that attacked Earth."

"You mean Grimwing and Predaking...Ser-Ket told me their names." the blonde Bot replied as both looked back at him.

"Well if I am reading this right, they were cloned by Shockwave from the CNA of ancient Predacon fossils that he found here on Cybertron." Liara said, earning curious looks from the Bots.

"They are clones!" Quickstrike said back in surprise.

"Not just them, but all the Predacons...including Ser-Ket." Orion added as he pointed at the information of the others.

"Their sparks were the only part that had been cloned at that time, but then Shockblast installed them into the prototype Pretender forms that Shockwave had created during Project Pretender. Liara can you access each Predacon's individual file?" the blue Bot added, making the Asari nod and then suddenly shake her head in return.

"I can access all but Ser-Ket's, her file is encrypted...but I have downloaded the files anyway and can decrypt them back on the Normandy."

"Okay, check the plans for this facility's power source. We can then call in Bravo team to sabotage it." Orion replied, earning a nod from Liara as she then brought up the facility's layout.

"It is one thousand metres away from us at the west side of the facility, I am sending the coordinates to the ship now." she said back as Orion tapped his com-link.

"Normandy, send Bravo team to the coordinates that Liara has just uploaded. Their target will be the reactor there." he said before noticing that both his cousin and the Asari were looking at what was once a human sized containment tank situated in the center of the lab, with pieces of shattered glass all over the floor.

"That's where it happened?" Orion asked as he knew what this was, gaining a nod from the Asari.

"Yes, that is where we woke up Galvatron. Unaware of the threat he posed." she replied with a hint of guilt in her voice, earning a sympathetic look from the blue haired Bot.

"Liara..."

Orion, I know..." the Asari said back, while Quickstrike looked over at the large opening in the wall just aways from them.

"What do you make of that?" he said, earning the others attention.

"If the Predacons are cloned from fossils of ancient Cybertronian remains, then I bet that hole leads to the mine where he retrieved the samples from." the young Darby replied.

"That means Project Predacon should be housed in this facility too, so when we destroy this place we will also cripple their ability to clone more." Liara added, gaining a nod from the blue haired Bot.

"I guess that is the entrance to other lab then." Quickstrike said as he pointed over to an open doorway that had a yellow light glowing from it's other side.

"One way to find out, lets go." Orion replied, only for Liara to grab him by the shoulder.

"Someone's coming." she said as a set of footsteps could be heard entering the lab entrance behind them, which made the trio turn round and aim their weapons at them.

"Shockblast?" Liara then exclaimed with a wide-eyes expression, earning similar looks from the cousins. While the Predacon merely stopped where he was and pointed his weapon at them, only slightly looking like he was surprised.

"Autobots!"

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile across the facility, a Ground-bridge vortex opened up and Nightracer, Smokescreen and Grunt exited it with weapons ready and found themselves standing before the reactor which glowed with a green hue.

"We are clear." Smokescreen stated as the portal closed and they saw that they were the only ones in the entire room, earning a disappointed sigh from the Krogan.

"Damn it, I was hoping there would be some Terracons to kill." Grunt replied.

"Well this place looks like it is run automatically, but even I find it strange that there are no guards." the Femme said back before activating her holo-tool and bringing up plans of the reactor on it's holo-screen.

"According to these old plans, we should lay charges at these two points for maximum detonation of it's power-source."

Both the Bot and Krogan nodded after looking at the image before splitting up and heading to either side of the reactor, each holding an explosive device that looked somewhat like C-four. Grunt was the first to reach his spot, connecting his bomb to the side of one the supports of the large fuel tank on the reactor's east side.

"Done." he said, while Smokescreen did the same on the west side of the reactor.

"Done..." he began to say before a sound caught his hearing, making him look down to see an ever so small crack running down to the bottom of the fuel tank.

"Hey guys, is it me or does this look familiar?" he said while looking at a small dribble pf green liquid that was running down the tank's side and dripping onto the floor. Both Nightracer and Grunt joined him to look at the mystery liquid, with the Femme scanning it with her holo-tool.

"Don't touch it, its Synthetic Energon. It's being used to power the facility."

"So I guess there can be a use for the unstable fuel." the Bot replied as he got back to his feet.

"Looks like it has been leaking for some time." Grunt added as he pointed at the puddle of Synthergon on the ground next to the tank.

"Come on, we should join up with Alpha team. Lets go." Nightracer said before the three left the tank and headed out of the room but unbeknownst to them, the Synthergon Puddle was leaking into a crack in the ground and had slowly dripped it's way down hundreds of feet below the facility. Slipping through further small cracks and crevices until a single droplet ran down the length of a stalactite in what appeared to be a cave, it then stopped at it's very tip before dropping off and falling several feet before hitting a smooth jet black metal that looked almost like armour. The drop of Synthergon then disappeared as it was absorbed into metal and everything remained quiet, until whatever the metal shape was began to shake slightly as it began to move. It gave off a groan before a pair of blue optics activated and narrowed as the 'whatever it was' woke up and growled, which echoed throughout the cave.


	29. Chapter 29

"Shockblast…" Liara said with a sorrowful tone as memories of him came flooding back in her mind as she stood with Orion and Quickstrike, her former lover standing in front of them with his weapon aimed right at her.

"So that explains how you Autobots found this lab, the Asari that escaped 'us' before led you here. Coming back was a mistake though Asari, you will not leave here alive this time." he said back coldly, as the cousins took a step towards the Con with their own weapons pointed back at him, Orion moving slightly in front of Liara while doing so.

"Shockblast, Galvatron has brainwashed you. You are not a Predacon, you are one of us." he said in return, attempting to get through to the Con.

"Yeah, they messed with your head." Quickstrike added, earning a bored expression from Shockblast.

"I see that Asari has been spreading her words of fiction again, I grow tired of such illogical reasoning." he said as Orion narrow his eyes in return.

"Her name is Liara T'Soni, you would do well to remember that." he said back while an annoyed tone, as he felt they were talking with a wall.

"That name means nothing to me, I am a Predacon and you are my enemies." the Con replied as Liara sighed and took a step toward him.

"Shockblast, look at me…really look at me. I can't believe that Galvatron has wiped your mind of what we had. There has to be a part of you still in there?" she pleaded, leaving herself completely open to attack which made Orion feel nervous.

' _She is going to get herself killed.'_

"It is illogical for you to continue with these lies Asari, as I already told you before." he said back, earning a confused expression from Liara which was noticed by the young Darby.

"He never used to speak like that." she said while stepping back towards the Bot. But Shockblast noticed this sudden change in them and smiled back, while his holo-tool activated on his free arm.

"What's he doing?" Quickstrike asked.

"Well, I grow tired of this prattle and I still have work to do..." the Predacon said back, just as a group of Terracons entered the room behind him.

"...these men will deal with you...kill them."

The Terracons immediately opened fire on the trio, with Liara forming a biotic barrier to shield them as the cousins fired back and killed two with their first shots.

"...where the hell did they come from." the blonde Bot exclaimed, while the Terracons and Shockblast took cover behind whatever they could.

"I want their corpses out of my laboratory...now!" he shouted over the weapons-fire, before firing back with his own weapon. The bullets impacted harmlessly against the blue energy field as Liara kept her focus on it, but the Autobots were still pinned to their spot in there.

"Lets shake things up a bit." Quickstrike said, earning his cousin's attention as he equipped a grenade from his utility belt.

"Get them out from behind that cover and we can take them out the old fashioned way, Liara be ready to drop the barrier on my word." the blue haired Bot replied as his cousin armed the explosive and threw it over the barrier, the small device landing behind the Terracons.

"Grenade!" one of them shouted before diving out from behind their cover as it exploded and knocked them all to the ground, while Orion unsheathed the Star-Saber and Quicksrike activated his holo-blade.

"Now!" the Autobot Spectre exclaimed as Liara brought down the barrier and the two cousins charged out at the Terracons, the blue haired Bot slicing his way through two of the enemies in quick motion as the blonde Bot decapitated another before he could get back to his feet.

"Wait, is that the Star-Saber? How are you holding it?" Quickstrike asked while disarming another Terracon and impaling it with his holo-blade as he looked over at Orion, who just killed another with the blade.

"Long story, not really the time or place for it." he replied before re-equipping his pistol in his free hand, and shooting another Terracon in the face, who had got back to his feet.

As the two Bots were mopping up the remaining Terracons, Liara saw Shockblast getting back to his feet just aways from the others.

"Oh no you don't." the Asari said as she punched a glowing hand forward and surrounded the Predacon in a biotic shield, blocking his escape.

"Asari, do you really think this energy field can hold me?" he asked as he turned his attention to her, standing before her with nothing but the blue energy between them, as the Asari finally realised in the way that the Predacon was staring at her that there was nothing left of the man she once loved.

"Your not going anywhere, try anything and I will have no choice but to kill you." she replied coldly as the Con noted that the Asari's attention was split between speaking to him and maintaining the shield.

"Really, you just given up on trying to convince me have you?..." he replied with a curious tone.

"Your not the Shockblast I knew, I should of seen that sooner." she said back, making him smile in return.

"Very good, that is a more logical answer than what you have prattled before now. But..." Shockblast replied, noticing that the blue female was watching him very closely like she was hanging on what he was about to say.

"...what if I have been lying and do in fact remember you." He continued with an honest expression that caught Liara off guard, fracturing her focus which caused the field to fluctuate.

"What?" she gasped, but before she could comprehend what he just said, Shockblast activated his holo-tool which took the form of a gauntlet around his fist and forearm, before punching the biotic shield and making it collapse and leave the shocked Asari completely defenceless.

"How?" Liara muttered in disbelief as the Predacon grabbed her by her arm and pulled her into a hold, switching his holo-gauntlet for a holo-blade which he then held at her throat with his free hand.

"What I just told you was a lie, since it was logical to think that you might still believe that I might know you...which I don't. And so that left you concentrating less on your biotics, so I could easily break through your shield." he said into her ear as Liara tried to break free, making Shockblast tighten his grip.

"It would not be logical for you to struggle, since all it takes to end your life is a flick of my wrist..." Shockblast warned, as he held the sharp holo-blade on the skin of her throat.

"...which I will do anyway, since my Liege demands.." the Con was about to finish but was cut off by someone tackling him to the ground, which freed Liara who rolled away to be met by Quickstrike.

"You alright?" he asked, making the Asari look up to see the blonde Bot and the dead Terracons lying behind him.

"Yes, just a light cut." she replied while wiping a little blue blood from her neck, before looking back to see Orion beating on Shockblast.

"Orion..." she whispered as she watched in surprise at how brutal he was acting.

"You tried to kill her, your spark is mine!" the blue haired Bot spat as he punched the Con repeatedly in the face, letting his anger get the better of him.

' _This bastard nearly killed her, he won't get another chance._ ' he thought as he unsheathed the Star-Saber again and held it to the Predacon's throat.

"Let's see how you like this." he said in an angered tone, but the bloodied Shockblast just stared back with an emotionless expression.

"Orion!" Quickstrike exclaimed, making the furious Darby look over at him.

"Don't kill him...not yet." he added, earning a confused expression from his cousin.

"Why the scrap not?" he spat back.

"Because we can get Intel from him...after that, I don't care what happens to him." Liara interrupting the blonde Autobot, as she looked into Orion's eyes.

"You can do what you want to me because..." Shockblast managed to say while his mouth was full of blood-like fluid, making the Spectre's eyes narrow at him.

"...I will not betray Lord Galvatron." he then spat as he reactivated his hol-blade and swung it up at Orion.

"Orion!" Liara shouted, as the blue haired Darby instinctively brought the Star Saber down to block the blade at level with his stomach. The Bot and Con were in a struggle as both were pushing each other, staring with hate into their eyes. But Orion then head-butted Shockblast, which made the Con stumble backwards before stopping himself. And the blue haired Autobot then swung his blade upwards in a quick motion, and scratched up the Predacon's armour before reaching his face and cutting a line up his right cheek and threw his eye, which made him cry out in pain.

"My Eye!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Orion replied coldly before side-kicking Shockblast in the face, knocking him out and sending him to the ground hard.

"Your coming with us whether you like it or not." he added before looking over at Arcee.

"Are you okay?" he said, earning an appreciative smile from her.

"I am alright Orion, thanks to you." she answered, making the Bot almost blush in return.

"Quickstrike, deal with his wounds would you please. I might kill him just for the sake of it, if I do it."

"Sure." his Cousin replied as he walked past and knelt beside the unconscious Predacon, taking out some medi-gel from his utility belt.

"Shockblast has been Galvatron's lead scientist according to the records, he should give us a substantial amount of Intel." Liara said while Orion looked back at their enemy with a more unsure expression.

"I don't know...I..." he started to say before noticing Shockblast's remaining eye open and look up at His cousin.

"Quickstrike, look out!" the Darby shouted, but the Predacon managed to grab the Bot by his chest-plate and throw him back to the ground in front of the blue haired Spectre and Asari, before looking at them with a completely emotionless face.

"Thank you for that, I can 'finally' see more clearly…." the Con said back cryptically, earning confused looks from the trio.

"…So allow me to give you some advice, better start running." he added.

"What? There are three of us and one of you, so why should we run?" Quickstrike asked, gaining a knowing look from Shockblast.

"Because of him." he simply replied while pointing towards the lab's entrance, which made the two cousins and the Asari turn around and freeze on the spot as standing in the doorway was a massive green and silver Predacon beast.

"Oh crap." Quickstrike said as the monster looked down at them while Orion equipped a grenade off his utility belt, pressing and holding down the button on it's top as he did so.

"When I say go, run for the entrance to the mine. You got me?" the Bot said, gaining nods from his cousin and Liara.

"Grimwing, crush them." Shockblast then shouted, earning a roar from the Predacon dragon as Orion threw the grenade at the Beast's head.

"Now!" he exclaimed as the trio turned around and ran for large hole in the wall, the grenade exploded in a blinding flash of light that caught both Predacons off guard while the Autobots ran into the mine. Once the light died down, Shockblast and Grimwing looked around until their eye and optics fell upon the same hole.

"After them!" he commanded, the beast responding with a roar before charging into the mine after them.

' _The mine is a dead-end, not a very logical choice Autobots._ ' Shockblast thought as he got back to his feet and walked over to a console, activating it with his holo-tool. He then brought up a screen which had a timer on it, setting it for fifteen minutes.

"Enable self destruct." he said aloud, earning a ping from the terminal.

"Voice recognition accepted, self destruct engaged. You have fourteen minutes and fifty-five seconds to reach minimum safe distance." the computer voice spoke, gaining a nod from the Predacon as he tapped his com-link.

"All Terrcons, this is Shockblast. Autobots have infiltrated the base and may have access to our database, I have therefore activated the joint self destruct of all 'my' laboratories to ensure they do not escape with any of the Intel stored on their joint database. You are to evacuate the bases immediately."

Once done, Shockblast then tapped his com-link again while looking back to see that Grimwing had disappeared into the mine.

"Lord Galvatron come in, I repeat Lord Galvatron come in."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Orion led the way with Liara and Quickstrike following close behind, as they made their way down the dimly lit tunnel of the mine. They could hear the beast getting closer, with it's roars echoing around them.

"You do know mines generally have only one entrance and exit, don't you?" the blonde Bot asked, which earned a knowing look from his cousin.

"Yeah, I do." he said back between breaths as they ran until the tunnel split into two slightly smaller ones.

"Take the left one." Orion said before the trio ran into that tunnel only for a few seconds later, Grimwing appeared at the same spot and looked at both openings before sniffing the air for a moment. His optics then narrowed as he looked into the left tunnel, growled and entered the tunnel.

"So what's the plan?" Liara asked as the trio kept moving through the underground tunnels, staying just ahead of the beast.

"We keep ourselves out of the Predacons reach and hope that it has picked the wrong tunnel, then make our way back up to the lab and rejoin the others." Orion replied before a loud roar could be heard echoing down the tunnel they were in, making them stop and look back with panicked expressions as they stared into the dark tunnel.

"I don't think we will he able to sustain the distance between Grimwing and ourselves, it will have caught up long before then." Quickstrike replied, gaining a nod from Liara who then turned her attention back to what was in front of them, making her sigh with a frustrated tone.

"I don't think it will matter either way." she said as she pointed ahead of her.

"Why?" Orion said back as both cousins turned to the Femme and looked at what she was pointing at.

"You've got to be kidding." the blonde Bot exclaimed with a wide eyed expression, which Orion mirrored.

"It's a dead end!" he stated as the trio looked at the rock-face several feet in front of them with no other exit, except the way they had just came from.

"Oh scrap." Quickstrike said before a loud growl could be heard behind them, making the Autobots turn and face that direction while backing themselves into the dead end.

"What about a ground-bridge?" the blonde cousin then asked, earning an annoyed stare from Liara.

"You were at the same briefing as us right? Rodimus did say that scans showed that areas near the center of the facility were protected by a null field that prevents any unauthorised ground-bridge vortexes from opening."

"Oh...yeah, that's right." Quickstrike replied sheepishly.

"I doubt we could even get a signal out from how far under the facility we are." Orion stated, gaining a knowing look from his cousin.

"What about the Star-Saber, if that sword can cut through a mountain...then it should make short work of a Predacon. I mean can't to just fire it's energy beam...things off at Grimwing?"

Orion unsheathed the blade and looked down at it before shaking his head.

"No, I can not do that. Since I am not a Prime, then I can not activate every possible function of this relic." he replied with a worried tone.

"Surely it can hurt though." Quickstrike replied, gaining a nod from Liara.

"Orion, its better to try something than nothing."

"Okay, then get behind me you two." the blue haired Bot said back as he held the blade in a defensive stance, his two friends standing back just as Grimwing entered the area. The metallic dragon looked down at the three, its optics focused in on each of them before it roared, the very sound made the cavern shake and brought down some dust from the cavern's ceiling. And then Grimwing moved forward and raised it's front right claws and slashed at it's enemies, but Orion instinctively slashed the Star-Saber at the same time, the ancient blade sliced through the extended claws and made the beast cry out in pain as it backed off.

"Good hit Orion." Quickstrike exclaimed before his joy suddenly disappeared as he, his cousin and their Asari friend looked at Grimwing, who growled lowly and narrowed it's optics at them angrily.

"I think I just pissed it off." Orion replied as the Beast pulled it's head back and opened it's mouth, a bright glow could be seen at the back of it's throat which made Quickstrike gulp as it brought back memories of another Predacon.

"Orion…" Liara then said gently as she grasped the blue haired Bot's hand, making him look over at her affectionately.

"I know Liara…." he replied as the three stood there, knowing full on well what was about to happen. When suddenly a slight tremor shook the cavern, startling Grimwing who shut his mouth and looked around curiously.

"Did you feel that?" Quickstrike then asked as dust once again sprinkled down from the ceiling, while both Orion and Liara looked around confused.

"Yeah I felt….." the Bot began to reply before another tremor shook the place.

"Yes, I can say we felt that." the Asari finished as the Spectre looked at the rock face behind them, all the while the Predacon beast still looked unsure.

"Well something's spooked Grimwing, shouldn't we try and sneak past." Quickstrike asked, earning a disbelieving expression from Liara.

"You first…" she said in a sarcastic tone, as the blonde Bot noticed that Grimwing pretty much had the tunnel behind him covered. Then another tremor occurred, and then another as Orion's eyes widened as he watched the rock face begin to crack.

"Guys we should…now!" he shouted as the tremors happened one after another, causing rocks to fall from the ceiling as Grimwing backed off more.

"Why?" Quickstrike began to ask before Orion grabbed him and Liara and pulled them both out of the way just as the rock face broke apart as something burst through, sending rocks and dust into the air. As the trio fell to the ground face first, another roar could be heard, but this one didn't sound like the Predacon Beast who had been hunting them.

So Orion quickly recovered and looked up at what had just announced it's arrival. His eyes widened as standing before him was a metallic dragon that looked not that dissimilar from the pictures of the one called Predaking, except that is was ever so slightly smaller. It was covered in jet black armour which had blue light glowing from it's gaps and blue optics that looked directly at Grimwing.

"What, another one?" Quickstrike stated as both he and Liara looked at the beast who did not take it's eyes off the Predacon.

' _Why do I get the feeling it recognises Grimwing?'_  Orion thought as the black Beast growled and then roared before pouncing at the green and silver dragon, tackling it to the ground as the cavern shook under the power of the impact.

"Right let's get out of here while those two Predacons take each other out." Quickstrike said as the trio got to their feet and made a run for it, while the two beasts slashed and gnawed at each other. But then Grimwing got the upper hand by slashing the Black Dragon's neck, making it recoil in pain and shield itself with it's wings. The Predacon then looked back to see the Autobots retreating and roared at them, making Liara look back and see it charge at them.

"By the goddess, its coming!" she shouted, as the cousins looked back. But suddenly Grimwing stopped in his tracks, as the Black beast appeared behind him with his tail in it's mouth, pulling the green and silver Dragon back to it.

"Is it just me, or is that creature helping us?" Orion asked in surprise, earning a mirrored look from his Cousin.

"More likely, it just wants to chew on Grimwing here before it comes for us...lets keep moving." he said back, with the Asari taking Orion by the hand.

"Orion, come on." she pleaded, but the blue haired Bot stopped as something caught his attention about the black monster.

"Wait, I saw something..." he replied as he spotted something at the center of the beast's fore-head, it was an emblem though not one that he recognised.

"...that is no Predacon." he added before a large rock fell at his side and brought him back to reality.

"Okay let's go!" he said as the three of them ran back through the tunnel as it began to collapse, due to the battle between the two giant beasts as they continued to bite and claw at each other.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

"Well, where is everyone?" Smokescreen said as he, Nightracer and Grunt entered the laboratory. All they found was a number of terminals, a containment tank that had been shattered and a large hole in the wall at the far side.

"I thought we would have seen them by now." the Bot added, while the Femme looked at her holo-tool.

"We were supposed to have rendezvoused with them at this location between this lab and our target but since they never showed, I reckoned we may still find them here." she said while the Krogan reloaded his shotgun.

"At least we managed to find some Terracons along the way." he said, earning a knowingly look from Smokescreen.

"Glad to see that your only worry is how many kills you got today Grunt."

"I am sure they are fine. You forget one is the son of a Prime and the other is the son of Ironhide, and don't forget who their mothers are." the Krogan replied, while Nightracer's attention was caught by strange sounds echoing out of the large hole.

"Quiet you two, can't you hear that?"

Suddenly Orion, Liara and Quickstrike ran out of the mine and towards the group.

"I would run if I were you." the blonde Bot exclaimed as both groups met, earning confused looks from Bravo team.

"Why were you down there?" Nightracer asked, but Orion simply gave her a knowing look.

"You should listen to Quickstrike 'this time', run..." he started to say before both Grimwing and the Black Dragon smashed through the mine entrance together, shocking the Femme, Krogan and Autobot.

"By Alpha Trion's beard..." Smokescreen exclaimed, finally getting them to join him and the others as everyone ran out of the lab, while the new beast swung it's tail around and smashed it into Grimwing's face.

Meanwhile outside on Cybertron's surface, Shockblast stood a quarter of a mile away from the base with his breather helmet, accompanied by a squad of Terracons. He then tapped his com-link.

"Lord Galvatron, we are ready for a space-bridge...yes, I have set the self destruct for silent countdown and we have five minutes left, the Autobots should have no warning..." he said before one of his troops, who was looking back through a pair of binoculars spotted something.

"Commander, look!" he said before handing them over to him, which then the Predacon looked out at the area his subordinate had pointed at.

"That is not logical." he spat as he saw the Autobots exiting the base with their breather helmets on, moving away from the base as fast as their legs could take them.

"They must not..." Shockblast began to say before suddenly the roof of the base burst open, which Grimwing's body thrown out of it and landing hard on the ground a hundred metres away. Everyone, it did not matter if it was Predacon or Autobot stopped and looked back to see the green and silver dragon getting back to it's feet before another beast appeared on the roof of the facility, where it then spread it's wings out and announced it's presence with a roar that echoed all around it.

"Fascinating.." the Predacon stated with a curious tone as he watched the black beast then jump off the building and land only a few feet from Grimwing.

"Sir, that beast is going to kill Grimwing." a Terracon said, earning a nod from his superior who tapped his com-link again.

"Lord Galvatron, Grimwing needs immediate back up...because there is another Cybertronian Beast that currently looks like it will defeat one of 'our' own...yes, please send both of them." the Predacon said as he and the Terracons watched.

As the battle between the two giant beasts erupted onto the surface of Cybetron, Orion and his team had stopped and watched in awe of the sight before them.

"Amazing, never thought seeing one of the Predacons being beat down would be such fun." Smokescreen said, gaining a nod of agreement from Grunt as Orion tapped his com-link.

"Orion to Normandy, Rodimus come in."

"I am here Orion, report." the Commander spoke from the ship, which was orbiting the planet while cloaked.

"We have succeeded in rigging the Predacon base's reactor to blow and downloaded a lot of Intel from their database, but right now I need you to ground-bridge everyone back on board." the Spectre replied, earning surprised and confused looks from his team mates.

"Why? What are you doing?" Nightracer said back first, knowing full well that both Liara and Quickstrike were about to say the same thing.

"That second beast isn't a Predacon...and it helped us escape from Grimwing back in the mine. I can't just leave it here." Orion said in return, gaining nods from Liara and his cousin.

"It is hard to believe, but Orion is right. But if you can even convince it to come with us. How are we going to get it aboard the Normandy?" Quickstrike asked.

"The cargo bay should be large enough for it." Rodimus said, after listening to Orion.

"But how do you know it isn't a Predacon?" the Commander added.

"Not only did it protect us, the creature also has a faction emblem on it that is definitely not Predacon." the blue haired Bot replied.

"It would be good for us to have our own dragon, and it is making short work of Grimwing right now." Smokescreen added into his com-link while pointing to the sight of the black beast gripping the Predacon's neck with it's jaws.

"Okay, permission granted. Opening ground-bridge now...good luck Orion." Rodimus answered and suddenly a green vortex opened up next to the group.

"Okay, guys go and I'll be right behind you." the young Darby said, earning nods from everyone except Liara and Quickstrike.

"I am not leaving Orion." the Asari answered with a defiant yet caring tone to her voice.

"What she said Cuz." the blonde Bot added with a knowing smile, causing the XO to sigh and nod back in acknowledgement.

"Okay, the rest of you go." he said and Smokescreen, Nightracer and Grunt ran into the vortex which then disappeared, leaving Alpha team there as they looked back at the beasts fighting.

"So...what's the plan?" Quickstrike then asked but before Orion could answer, a space-bridge vortex opened up in the sky and Skystalker flew through and dive bombed at the black beast who noticed this and dropped the wounded Grimwing back to the ground. It then looked up at the blue and white dragon descending to him, opened it's mouth and fired a stream of blue fire which hit the Predacon dead on and made it crash to the ground in a heap.

"Cool." Quickstrike then commented as the beast roared like it was acknowledging the compliment, but then Predaking suddenly exited the vortex and immediately made the creature narrow it's blue optics as it stared back and growled.

"Is it me or does that look like it recognises Predaking?" Orion asked, but no one answered as they were fixated on this fight in front of them.

The black dragon then roared at the new arrival before firing another fire blast, but the large Predacon performed a barrel roll like move, dodging the blast and swooped down with it's claws bare and tackled the dragon to the ground. Predaking then slashed at it with it's claws before smashing it's head against the other, causing it to fall back on to it's back.

Orion immediately unsheathed the Star-Saber and began to run toward the fight, only for Liara to grab his arm and stop him.

"What are you doing?" she asked in an alert and worried tone, making the Bot look back at her.

"We need to help it...now!" he exclaimed, earning a confused look from his cousin.

"...How are we supposed to do that? I mean there are three Predacon beasts out there...just how do..." he started to say before the Asari cut him off and pointed at the fight with her eyes wide in shock.

"Look!"

Both cousins turned their attention back to the beasts, their expressions mirroring Liara's as right before their eyes, the black beast started to transform as it rolled off it's back. Its wings folded neatly onto it's back as it's arms and legs changed to look more like a Cybertronian's. It's long neck And head folded back and disappeared into it's back as the armour shifted and changed, as another more humanoid head with a Prime styled helmet appeared and it's optics glowed blue as the dragon finished it's transformation and was now an armoured Bot in a kneeling position.

"Wow." Quickstrike exclaimed as the newly formed Cybertronian who's armour was mainly black with blue glowing engravings on it and looked smooth and curved perfectly to the slightly larger athletic build of the Bot. He looked directly at the orange and black Predacon and gritted his teeth.

"PREDAKING!" he then roared before launching himself at the beast, who bared it's teeth and did the same. But as it snapped it's head forward and attempted to bite the black armoured Bot, he dodged it and grabbed the beast's long neck tightly before swinging the dragon around and throwing it back to the ground.

"I would say he knows Predaking." Liara added before she, Orion and his cousin then noticed that both Skystalker and Grimwing were back on their feet and moving toward the Cybertronian, who was still focused on Predaking.

"Hey, look out!" Orion then shouted as loud as his lungs would allow him too, which made the Bot look over his shoulder and see not only notice them but also the two Predacons. So he immediately turned and readied to fight them just as Predaking got back to his feet, which meant the three beasts now had him surrounded.

"So what now?" Quickstrike asked, as Orion tapped his com-link.

"Normandy, I need you to fire a few torpedoes at the Predcons."

This made both his cousin and the Asari look back at hin in surprise.

"You know how close we are to the battle don't you." Liara replied.

"Danger close?" the blonde Bot added, while the three Predacons began circling the black armoured Bot, earning a confused look on his face.

"Alright Orion, but you do know that reports have said that our weapons have barely slowed them down in the past." Rodimus replied via the com.

"I know, but we just need to distract the Predacons long enough for our friend to get away, also open a ground-bridge for us to the cargo-bay and make it large enough for our guest." the blue haired Bot said back.

"Very well, torpedoes away in three...two...one...fire." the Commander replied, before a second later four red projectiles appeared in the sky and hurtled towards the location of the fight. The beasts and Cybertronian's attention turned to these as they looked up and saw the projectiles coming straight at them, which made the Bot dive out of the way while the Predacons kept watching. The torpedoes then hit the ground directly in front of each beast and exploded, earning a roar from each as the rock and dust was sent up into the air, surrounding the beasts. The Bot, who managed to get out of the way then looked up and saw the three small beings again.

"Come with us, Hurry!" the blue haired one shouted as a large green vortex appeared behind them, but the Cybertronian noticed that this person was carrying an object...a blade that somehow felt familiar to him. So he nodded in return and got to his feet and began running towards the group, who in turn ran for the vortex. Meanwhile Predaking, Grimwing and Skystalker all managed to recover and saw their enemies retreating for the portal, so they roared at them and began pursuit.

"That's right!" Orion shouted as he saw the towering Bot heading his way, so the Spectre turned his attention back in front and saw that Liara and Quickstrike had entered the ground-bridge. He could hear and feel the Cybertronain's footsteps as they shook the ground while he caught up and ran alongside, all the while the three beasts charged up behind them.

The Bot then looked over his shoulder and saw that the Predacons had opened their mouths, and the light of their dragon-fire could be seen charging as they prepared to fire. So the Cybertronian then picked up the blue haired Spectre, which surprised the hell out of him.

"what the hell!" the Bot exclaimed as he suddenly found himself in the larger Bot's hand looking down at the ground which was flying past as the giant Bot ran towards the vortex.

"You wont fit, you have to transform!" Orion shouted and just as he did, the Cybertronian heard the sound of the Predacons unleashing their dragon-fire behind them.

"Hold on!" he replied before gently tossing the blue haired Spectre into the air and transforming back into his beast mode, and then catching the man in his mouth before he could hit the floor.

"Sweet Jesus!" Orion gasped as he found himself firmly between the Dragon's jaws, but in no danger of being bitten in half. The metallic beast then ran into the vortex which closed before the joint dragon-fire from the Predacons could reach it.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Shockblast was still watching as he stared blankly at the dragons who had stopped and began looking around, as if they were confused to how their enemies could have disappeared. But the Con merely tapped his com-link as he looked away, having lost interest.

"My liege, the Autobots have escaped and they took the beast with them...yes, opening a ground-bridge for us would be a logical choice." he said before one opened up and allowed Predaking, Skystalker and Grimwing to enter , before closing again. Then another one, one that was more Shockblast's size. And he and his Terracons walked through the event horizon just as the facility exploded.

Meanwhile Orion found himself looking down at his friends, who had heir weapons raised and pointed in his direction.

"Let Orion go now!" Liara said firmly as she held her pistol with one hand, while her other was a clenched fist and glowing with biotic energy.

"Yeah, put my Cousin down. He is not a chew toy!" Quickstrike added as he pointed his own weapon at the Beast, which looked back and gave off a confused whine.

"Guys I'm okay, you can lower your weapons." the blue haired Bot replied, before looking back into the creatures blue optics and giving it a slight smile. The Dragon then lowered his head to the ground and released the Darby, who immediately turned back round to see that they were in the cargo-bay and the beast just had enough room to move around.

"Thank you, for what you did back there." he said.

"Wait, you saying this guy...beast was just carrying you in its mouth, like a lioness with its young?" his cousin said, gaining a nod from Orion.

"Exactly."

Then the cargo-bay door to their right opened, with Rodimus and Bravo team entering the large room. Which made the beast look straight at them, it's optics narrowing.

"It's alright, your among friends." Orion quickly said, regaining the beast's attention.

"By the All-spark." Rodimus exclaimed, while the others just looked at it in amazement.

"My name is Orion Darby, what's yours?" the blue haired Bot asked, while sheathing the Star-Saber on his back. The dragon looked at him for a second before suddenly transforming right before their eyes. Once the transformation had finished, the crew of the Normandy found themselves before a Cybertronian who was on his hands and knees as he looked down at all one of them, before his optics fell back on Orion.

"My name is Onyx Primal, Leader of the Maximals."

 


	30. Chapter 30

"What's a Maximal?" Smokescreen asked aloud, while everyone stood in front of the giant Cybertronian. Onyx looked at him with a confused expression.

"You have heard of a Predacon, but not a Maximal?

Rodimus activated his holo-tool and brought up images of wall paintings that showed the beasts, to which the Bot gave a curious look.

"Before Galvatron managed to resurrect the Predacon race through science, very little was known about the time other that great beasts walked the surface of Cybertron. As these images show, the writing underneath each identifies them as Predacon. But the planet suffered an extinction level event which we called 'The Great Cataclysm', which wiped out your entire species and civilisation overnight, because these pictures which were found underground in cave systems were all that we modern day Cybertronians could find." the Commander replied just as Liara activated her holo-tool for some show and tell.

"But recently we discovered that was not the case, as it seems that remains of the Predacons were fossilised deep underground. Far deeper than had been previously explored before, it was the Decepticon Shockwave who found those remains. And he cloned the Predacons, using the CNA he had extracted from them."

"Decepticon?" Onyx replied with tinge of confusion to his voice, making everyone look back at him.

"I know only of Maximals and Predacons, and have never heard of Decepticons." he added, making Orion step forward.

"Onyx, before we continue this conversation, I think it would be a good idea to update you on everything that has happened between your time and the present day." he said before looking over to Rodimus, who nodded in return and activated his holo-tool. Then suddenly a massive holo-screen appeared on the wall in front of the Maximal and began playing through historical footage and data, while Orion and his team-mates narrated their story for him.

Once done, Onyx had a very weary expression on his face while he processed it all in his mind, meanwhile everyone just stayed quiet and watched him.

"So it is true, I am the last of my kind. And the Predacons I fought…. Predaking included, are nothing more than shadows of who they used to be."

"I am sorry Onyx, I cannot begin to imagine what you are going through right now." Orion said, while the Maximal looked back at the image of Cybertron on the large holo-screen.

"When I was knocked into stasis during the Cataclysm, which occurred during our last battle with the Predacons. The last I remember of Cybertron, was it's landscape being devastated by a rain of fire. So when I awoke again and saw the surface during my fight with Grimwing, I thought that the devastation I laid my optics on was the result of that terrible day, but now I know that this is not the case. Let me tell you, that when we Maximals fought against our Predacon Brothers and Sisters. We did so believing that it would be first and last time that a Cybertronian would ever harm another. But I guess that belief was misplaced, or maybe we were just naïve. After all 'our War' lasted merely a few of what you call... years, but this Autobot/Decepticon conflict lasted for eons. I guess there is no such thing as real peace...because no sooner did that war end, that another began with what you call the Reapers." the Maximal said with a sheepish tone while everyone listened, but Orion then took a step forward.

"Its true, peace may never last forever. But it's far from a worthless goal to pursue, in fact the conflict with the Reapers had the positive effect of uniting the entire galaxy. Just because something is hard to get, doesn't mean we should just stop trying." the blue haired Bot replied, earning a smile from all around him, even Primal looked down at him with a similar expression.

"When I look at you Orion Darby, I cannot help but be reminded of a friend of mine. He once said something very similar to me during the war."

Before the young Darby could ask who the Bot meant, Liara beat him there with a question of her own.

"When we were on Cybertron, I could not help but notice that you looked at Orion's Star-Saber. I get the impression that you have seen it before, and that is why you came with us." the Asari said, earning a nod from Onyx.

"That is correct, I have seen this blade before. It was when I first awoke and opened my optics for the very first time, I looked up and saw the magnificent of beings standing over me. His armour was gold and silver with a very heroic quality to it, he welcomed me into the world as I took my first look upon it. I was one of the first to be awoken, third only to Sentinal Maximus and Predaking. As our race….the Predacons came into being, the Thirteen remained to watch over us for a time and make sure we were acclimatizing to Cybertron. For we were only Beasts at the time, unable to transform as we did not know how to. But that would come in time and when it did finally happen, it was Predaking who lead the way and thus became the Leader of our people. And it was then that the Thirteen vanished mysteriously, we never knew where they went or what happened to them. And as the cycles past they ended up becoming legends of ours, while we created our own civilisation."

The Primal then looked back at Orion and at the hilt of the Star-Saber which could be seen over the blue haired Bot's shoulder.

"May I ask how you came to be in possession of the 'Blade of Prima'?"

"My father….Jackson Prime held on to it after the passing of his mentor and close friend, Optimus Prime."

"Your father is a Prime, so their lineage continues….that is very intriguing. You must be special yourself for being able to hold such a powerful and mighty blade as the Star-Saber, for it will not let just anyone hold onto it. I remember witnessing Prima having a bout with Predaking who managed to knock the blade from the Prime's hand, but when he tried to lift it off the ground with his jaws…..the blade would not budge." Onyx replied with a knowing expression, which made the young Darby feel somewhat uncomfortable with what he was being told.

"I don't know about that….but since I can wield the Star-Saber, I will use it to do what is right."

Liara looked over at Orion and smiled as he said this, while everyone else except Quickstrike looked at the XO with a surprised expression.

"When were you going to tell us that you were in possession of the Star-Saber, I mean you do realise what that means…don't you?" Nightracer asked, beating everyone else to the question, which left Orion feeling like he was stuck under a spot light.

"I know what you are getting at, though I do not entirely believe it myself." the Bot replied but before anyone else could speak up, Rodimus stepped forward. As he saw how uncomfortable his XO was getting with the current debate.

"Okay, we are getting off topic here.." he said before looking back at the Primal.

"What happened to you Onyx Primal, how did you end up buried beneath the ground and not joined with your brethren in the All-Spark?"

"Well as I just said before… the Thirteen had left us and we had begun to build our own civilisation, mastering our ability to shift between our Cybertronian and beast forms. There were two forms of Predacons, these were Flyers and Walkers. Now as our civilisation grew, these two groups had a settled but not perfect relationship. But slowly that began to change, as those of us capable of flight started to have a supremacist belief in themselves. And they started to see their Walker Brothers and Sisters as being not worthy to stand amongst them, and so this cancer spread over our world and thus created a chasm, one that effected split our people in two. And at first…I was one of those that believed." Onyx said with the guilt evident in his voice as everyone listened intently.

"Looking back at how times were back then, it was so easy to look down at those unable to join us in the sky and feel superior." the Maximal added.

"And here I thought the only prejudice Cybertronians went through was during 'The Golden Age' with the caste system." Nightracer replied, gaining a nod from the Primal.

"So what changed?" Orion asked.

"Sentinal Maximus was the first to openly question this way of thinking and as he did this, his popularity among other Walkers began to rise. Predaking though would not stand for any voice other than his own being heard by the general population, so he had Sentinal imprisoned." Onyx replied.

"I'm guessing that didn't stop his followers?" Smokescreen added.

"It did not, there were mass protests in every city across the planet. Even though the Flyers outnumbered the Walkers, the turn out for each protest was an impressive sight to say the least. But then Predaking had the idea that if the Walkers followed Sentinal as much as they made out, that if he was suddenly to be killed before all their optics, then their collective voice would be silenced and they would finally accept their place in Predacon society." the Primal continued.

"So what did he do?" Liara asked.

"Predaking placed Sentinal in the 'games' which were held in the pits of Iacon. Maximus was meant to be killed by some of our Predacon warriors such as Inferno, Windrazor, Sawtooth and Quickstrike." the Maxima said, making Smokescreen look over to the blonde Bot with a wide eyed expression.

"Your named after a Predacon?" he gasped, gaining an eye roll from the Bot.

"No I am not Smokescreen, can we get back to the topic on hand." he replied, with everyone giving a nod of agreement as Grunt placed his hand on the other Bot's shoulder.

"If he speaks again, I'll kill him." the Krogan said with a joking-like tone, while Rodimus looked back at Onyx.

"I am guessing it didn't have the effect Predaking was hoping for."

"That is correct. No matter who entered the arena with Sentinal, he would come out the victor which would send his followers into a frenzy. He said that Predaking was helping his cause by letting him prove that Walkers were just as good as their Flyer Brothers and Sisters, so they should be treated equally." the Maximal added.

"So what happened next?" Orion asked.

"After this went on for a good number of cycles, Predaking had enough of the debacle and so entered the arena himself and challenged Sentinal. He wanted to prove once and for all that Flyers should be the dominant ones among our civilisation. The fight between the two was ferocious and bloody, with neither willing to give an inch to the other. Many thought that the fight would never end, as Both Predaking and Sentinal seemed to be fighting to a stand still. All of a sudden, the latter managed to get the upper hand on the Predacon and looked to be claiming the killing blow. But just as Walkers around Cybertron were about to celebrate, Sentinal had left himself open while he went for the kill, allowing Predaking to critically injure the Bot. And in the blink of an eye the tables had turned, as the Predacon leader stood over Maximus and right there and then, he executed his opponent in the most brutal way."

"Did that have the effect Predaking was after?" Rodimus asked.

"It had quite the opposite effect actually, because Sentinal had such a heroic and fierce display against the Predacon Leader who had a reputation for being unbeatable, that it gave the Walkers more encouragement to fight for equality."

"What about you, did it effect you in a similar way?" Orion said with a curious expression, gaining a head-shake from the Maximal.

"No it didn't, I mean I felt sympathy for the Walkers because of how my blood brother was treating them. But I didn't feel anything else...at first." he said, before looking at a bulkhead.

"..At first?" Liara then asked.

"After Sentinal's death, there were a small number of sympathetic Flyers to the plight of the Walkers. My friend Airazor was one of them, she had been a close friend of mine for as long as I can remember and was an honourable and courageous Predacon Femme. She did not get on with Predaking and was very against his methods and leadership, but he would not even touch her. Looking back at it, I guess he was just looking for a reason to snuff out her spark. And then he got one, as one day a group of Terracons began harassing two Walkers in the main square of the Capital. Airazor witnessed the skirmish and immediately got involved and defended the Walkers, which had been the first time that a Flyer ever did this. Predaking did not take this well as he had her arrested and brought to the arena and there in front of everyone, who had been expecting to see a fight...instead saw the Femme getting tortured." Onyx then said as his face became one full of regret.

"Predaking condoned public torture, he sounds more and more like Megatron every time you mention him." Smokescreen said with a disgusted tone, one that was shared by everyone else in the room.

"I got there just in time to see them tear Airazor's wings from her body, and it was then at that moment that my spark became enraged. Because not only did Predaking have my closest friend and ally tortured as a scare tactic against the masses, and had also taken away the right for the accused to fight for their freedom in the arena, but he took it upon himself to torture Airazor. So I gate-crashed the proceedings and rescued her, but not before giving my blood brother a severe beating right in front of the arena's audience." Onyx replied.

"I bet that went down a storm with the Walkers.." Quickstrike said, earning a nod from the giant Bot.

"Yes, seeing the leader of the Flyers being humiliated by one of his own sent the Walkers in the Arena into a frenzy and they began fighting with Flyers and Terracons alike. A group of Walkers assisted me with getting Airazor to a safe haven outside of the Capital and it was there that she and others including Rhinox convinced me to help them fight, since my reputation as one of the Predacons best warriors and tacticians was widely known throughout Cybertron. They felt that I would make a perfect successor to Sentinal, but at first I was not interested since my only priority was Airazor's well-being."

"But I guess she managed to twist your arm." Nightracer said with a knowing tone, gaining a nod from the Primal.

"Yes, Airazor did have a way with words and she knew me too well." he answered with an affectionate tone, one that did not go unnoticed by the others. But instead of bringing it up, they all just remained quiet and let the Maximal speak.

"So I agreed to lead the Walkers against the rest of the Predacons and we agreed to name our faction 'Maximals' in honour of Sentinal Maximus, for he was the first to stand up to Predaking and his supremacist forces. Had it not been for him, then there would never have been an uprising."

"You said the War lasted a few years?" Smokescreen then asked, before anyone else could speak.

"Yes, despite the fact we Maximals were outnumbered by our Predacon brethren, we managed to give as good a fight as we received. We had victories….and we had defeats, losing…friends… along the way." Onyx replied while looking down at the ground, the blue of his optics illuminating the metal floor. A look of regret and pain on his face while the others remained quiet, silently paying respects as he did. After a moment the Bot looked back up and was ready to speak again.

"How did the war end?" the Commander asked with a curious tone, making the Maximal's optics turn to him.

"It could have been just another battle, but on that particular solar-cycle my spark was as enraged as it had been on the very day it all started. I was convinced that killing Predaking would be the only way to end the war, and I had the conviction to carry me through to that end."

Orion just listened as did everyone else, but he could not help but wonder what had happened to make Onyx feel that way again. The blue haired Bot felt that he may know the answer, but decided not to pursue an answer from the Primal and stayed silent.

"I fought with Predaking, it was a battle to end all battles between us. We had been friends, blood Brothers and were now hated enemies. Even as our armies fought around us, our optics were only focused on each other. But before a victor would be revealed, the entire planet began to shake as fire rain down from the sky. The entire planet's surface began to burn as it looked like the end of the world was upon us, but then the ground beneath me broke apart and I found myself falling into darkness and everything went black." the Maximal said.

"That must have been when you went into stasis-lock. But what brought you out of it?" Rodimus then asked, earning thoughtful looks from everyone before Smokescreen had a eureka expression.

"It must have been the Synthergon, you know what we found powering the reactor." he said as he looked over to Nightracer and Grunt, hoping for some acknowledgment.

"Yes, that's right. We found a leak in one of the storage tanks that was dripping through a crack in the floor." the Femme agreed, gaining a confused look from Onyx.

"Synthergon?"

"A synthetic form of Energon, but it is unstable due to it's formula being incomplete. We should have you checked to see what your levels are, because it can have an adverse effect on Cybertronian physiology." Rodimus replied before looking at the others.

"So the rest of you should get some rest in the meantime."

"If I may Commander, I would like to get on with studying the Intel we took from the Predacon base. It could give us a clue to their next target." Liara then said, as Orion joined her side.

"I'll help, two pairs of eyes are better than one." he said, earning a slight smile from the Asari.

"Very well, everyone dismissed." Rodimus replied as everyone headed out of the cargo-bay, before he turned back to the Maximal.

"I will have our Doctor, Red-Alert come down and take some scans."

"Of course, but I would like to keep this up and read some more." Onyx replied while pointing at the large holo-screen beside him.

"Very well, I will be in the CIC if you require anything." Rodimus said back before walking out of the room and back into the ship's corridor.

"Commander Rodimus, Jetstorm here." a voice spoke up on the inter-com.

"Status report?" the Commander replied.

"The base was completely destroyed sir." the pilot said back.

"Excellent.." Rodimus began to say back, but then Jetstorm cut him off.

"Yes sir, but at that same time our sensors picked up similar explosions from all around Cybertron."

"But that wasn't us." the Elite Spectre replied with a confused expression.

"Perhaps they were all connected via the same power network, and they all just detonated." the pilot said back.

"Or the Predacons got jumpy and destroyed all the evidence that they had been there, just on the off chance we were going to find those facilities too."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile on the Nemesis which was currently surrounded by a fleet of Predacon and former Omega ships, the bridge was uncharacteristically quiet. All the Terracons stationed there had they heads down and were focusing just on their own work, not even daring to look up and see what was happening around them. For they could sense that a storm was about to be rained upon them as Rip-Claw stood on the catwalk above then with Galvatron, the Predacon leader staring at the Femme wit narrowed eyes.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" he asked with gritted teeth, showing that he was restraining his anger...for the moment.

"I am sorry, Lord Galvatron." the Femme replied with a apprehensive expression, but her words did not even make her superior flinch as he stared down at her.

"Is that all you have to say for losing not only the colony to the Autobots, but also our advantage over their forces." he then replied, with an anger building in the tone of his voice that set alarm bells ringing with Rip-Claw.

"My Lord, it wouldn't have been possible for the Autobots to do what they did without Ser-Ket's help. Surely you should blame her more than I."

"But it happened on your watch Rip-Claw, and you will answer for that. In fact, had you not managed to capture your traitorous sister, then I would have had you killed right now." Galvatron spat back, which made the Femme lower her head in shame as she looked at the ground.

"Now get out of my sight, while I think what should be done with you." he then added before turning his back on her, a disgusted expression on his face.

"Give me another chance my Lord, I will not fail you again." Rip-Claw pleaded, but the Predacon leader kept his attention to the void beyond the bridge's canopy.

"You are not helping your chances by begging, now get out!"

The Femme merely nodded shakilly before backing away slowly, until she was far enough away and then turned and rushed off the bridge, nearly banging into Six-Shot as he walked through the doorway.

"Hey, what was that?" he asked back in surprise, but Rip-Claw disappeared down the corridor before he could say anything else.

"Six-Shot.." Galvatron's voice then boomed, making the Terracons below stop what they were doing and remain very still as fesr took hold.

"...I am not in the best of moods, I suggest you leave me be." he added as his lieutenant walked up and stopped right behind him.

"I have just heard about my Brother, is he alright?" the Con asked with concern in his voice.

"He is being treated in the Infirmary at this moment, but I have yet to question him on how he lost the facility, as well as 'why' he decided to detonate all the others...just because the Autobots found one..." Galvatron spat as his anger began to rise again.

"How did the Autobots even find the base, Cybertron is a dead planet." Six-Shot asked with a disbelieving tone.

"Your brother told me that Asari, the one you two failed to kill, was with the Autobots. My guess is that she lead then there." the Predacon leader replies as he looked over his shoulder at his lieutenant.

"First...Rip-Claw with Ser-Ket and now you two with that Asari, I am beginning to sense a pattern here. Are any of you incapable of killing when it is utmost required of you. For I have now lost two bases to the Autobots and our main advantage over them, all in the space of a day or so."

But this then ignited Six-Shot's spark as he gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at his leader, not even remotely put off by Galvatron's imposing demeanour.

"You want to talk about mistakes, then lets go over nuking an Autobot Colony...shall we."

The Predacon Lord's eyes widened in surprise at his minion's impudence.

"You dare..."

"We are supposed to be conquering the Federation and their Autobots, not exterminating them. What were you thinking?" Six-Shot continued, letting his hanger push him further as he confronted Galvatron, who looked even more aggravated.

"How dare you question me and my methods! Or do you forget who you are talking too?" the Predacon leader snapped as he towered over his lieutenant, who looked as if he still would not back down as he stared back defiantly.

"I wanted to send the Autobots a message, and it was delivered perfectly. I doubt they will move against us so quickly again, since I am just cleaning up the mess my lieutenants have caused." Galvatron said, which made Six-Shot look away with a worried expression as he did see the Predacon Lord's logic and suddenly felt that he no longer have a leg to stand on.

"Now if I were you, I would make myself scarce before I tear your spark out for insubordination!" his leader continued as he noticed the change in his minion's behaviour, so Six-Shot bit his lip and clenched his fists tightly before turning around and storming off the bridge as Galvatron watched with narrowed eyes until the Con was gone.

In the Nemesis's science lab, Shockblast was standing at one of the terminals and looking at the holo-screen being emitted by it. He was typing on the holo-interface as he watched code scrolling down the screen at speed and despite losing an eye, his remaining one was working just fine as it kept up with the information on the screen.

' _Where are the files, I know they are here. It would be illogical for these people to not download them from my laboratory._ ' he thought before the Science Lab's door opened and Six-Shot entered, which did not even make Shockblast blink as he kept his attention on the screen.

"There you are, I thought I was going to find you in the Infirmary but you had already left." the younger Con said as he walked up to his older brother's side.

"It was not logical for me to stay there, not when I have a great many tasks to complete." Shockblast replied coldly, earning a worried expression from Six-Shot.

' _Why is he talking like that?_ ' he thought, as his Brother noticed that he was still standing there.

"Is there something I can help you with? Because if not, then I must ask you to leave."

"Yeah, you can tell me what's going on with you lately?" Six-Shot asked, which gaining a confused expression from Shockblast.

"Of what do you speak?" he asked before turning his attention back to the terminal, typing into the holo-interface as a loading bar appeared on it's screen. But his younger Brother looked back with an even more confused expression.

"This is what I am talking about, you never used to act or talk like you are now...what is going on?" he pleaded, but Shockblast ignored it and focused on his work. But after seeing his brother becoming more distant and more distant over the their time with Galvatron, coupled with how angry he was after his latest spat with their leader, Six-Shot had enough of this and grabbed Shockblast by the arm which made the Con look at him blankly.

"What in the All-spark has happened to you, I don't even recognise you anymore. I Thought it might have been the workload that Galvatron placed on your shoulders, that it might be stress but I look at you...and its like your not even there." the younger Con said with an angry and concerned tone as his brother just looked at him.

"Remove your arm...now!" Shockblast said back with a deathly cold tone, while narrowing his eye with a stare that was just as cold. Six-Shot was surprised by the threat and so let go of his Brother's arm, just looking back with a dumbfounded expression which Shockblast ignored as he walked past, heading for the door.

"This conversation is over." he added before exiting the lab, leaving Six-Shot alone.

' _What in the pit is going on around here, first Galvatron promises to conquer the galaxy only to start sending our ships out for a glorified scavenger hunt, and then starts nuking Autobot targets. And meanwhile my Brother is acting less and less like himself, which is now to the point where I swear he is a stranger._ ' the Con thought before his attention was caught by the sound of a beeping noise, so he turned and saw that it was emanating from the now completed loading bar.

Curious about what his Brother was looking into, Six-Shot activated his holo-tool and connected it to the terminal which then made the bar and the sound it was producing to stop. Then the screen began to show large images that looked like video recordings, and the young Con found himself curious to what these were so he found himself clicking on one and making it play before him. What he saw made his eyes widen as the footage played out in front of him.

"No...I don't recall this!"

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

As the Normandy orbited an uninhabited planet in the Traverse, the 'nightshift' crew were all focused on their duties about the ship while the remainder were resting. But there was one person who was not, for he was unable to focus on anything but what he had recently lost. And this was very punishing for Quickstrike as he walked through the Normandy's corridors. For when he was down on Cybertron with his cousin and the others or greeting their new Maximal guest, things were too hectic for the Bot to get sidetracked by the thoughts of the love he had lost. But now that everything had quietened down, he could not help but lose his focus and let Ser-Ket dominate his thoughts. So the blonde Autobot carried on walking, from one end of the ship to the other. He knew that he probably should be helping Liara with decrypting the Predacon Intel or anyone of his new friends with their duties or points of interest, but his spark was in pain right now and he had to let the storm of emotion take him and ride it out, until the next crisis hit and give him back some semblance of focus.

Quickstrike had pretty much walked two whole laps of the ship by the time he came to a stop at the entrance to the cargo-bay, not sure if he should enter what some crew were now calling 'Lair of the Dragon'. He wasn't sure if that name was entirely deserving for the Maximal, who on first impression seemed very civilised despite his alternate mode. But this nickname had originated from the crew who had yet to know Onyx Primal and as with anyone, when there was something you didn't understand then it was natural to fear it until you did.

But why was he currently standing outside the Maximal's living space aboard the Normandy, and at this ungodly hour. Maybe it was that during their first 'chat' with Onyx, there was a moment when Quickstrike felt that the Maximal had felt a similar pain to his own. He had certainly alluded to it during his retelling of the his life before the 'great cataclysm', even if it was in a throw-away line.

' _What did he mean by that, and if has had an experience similar to me...then how did he deal with it?_ ' the blonde Bot thought while pressing the keypad next to the door, which opened and allowed him access.

Once inside, Quickstrike noticed that the lights in there had been dimmed, making the area look a little creepy. Building that atmosphere more was the sound of breathing, which echoed throughout the room. But the Bot spotted the Maximal in his beast mode, curled up o the floor. The image it presented looked like one of those seen in fantasy stories, the ones where there was a dragon sleeping in a cave. But before Quickstrike could move any closer, the dragon's optics opened and looked directly at him, which made him feel uncomfortable.

"Oh, uh…sorry." he said back sheepishly, before the beast got to its feet and then transformed into the calm but physically imposing figure of Onyx Primal.

"..Quickstrike….., I sense something is troubling you?" the Maximal asked, earning a surprised look from the Autobot.

"What makes you think that?"

"Because while your team-mates are either focused on powering down or concerning themselves with other duties, you are walking around the ship by yourself." Onyx replied with an observant expression, which made the Bot suddenly feel guilty for walking in on the ancient Cybertronian.

"Look, you were resting. I will go." Quickstrike said back as he began to back towards the door but then Onyx gestured for him to stop, his blue optics staring at the Bot.

"You have lost someone….haven't you?"

The blonde Autobot felt like he was suddenly naked and without any kind of defence, as the Maximal's question had caught him off guard.

"How did you..?"

"I can see it in your eyes, you have lost someone who is close to your spark. I would know for I have...too." Onyx replied as he looked away, as the memory rushing back into his neural net.

"Was it Airazor?" Quickstrike asked sombrely with the Cybertronian nodding slowly in return, earning a similar expression from the blonde Bot.

"I am sorry."

"As am I, for the loss you have suffered. May I ask who she was?" Onyx replied as he looked back at the Bot.

"Her name was Ser-Ket, she was a Predacon who rescued me from one of their bases." Quickstrike said back as he looked at the ground, not wanting the Maximal to see the pain he felt as his own memories started to return to his thoughts.

"I see..." the big Bot replied as he remembered from the briefing that Predacons had been given pretender bodies to use.

"..What was Ser-Ket like?"

"Ser-Ket was...the most amazing woman I have ever met. She had a kind and compassionate spark, and was brave and honourable. She didn't fit in with the other Predacons, and didn't share their blood lust." Quickstrike reminisced with a slight smile as he remembered the Femme, how she would look at him, and smile. Onyx returned the smile as he looked down at the Bot.

"She sounds like she was a wonderful person and not at all like a Predacon, in fact I would say she sounds more like a Maximal."

"I thought that Both factions were the same?" Quickstrike replied with a confused look, earning a nod from Onyx.

"Indeed, but the blood lust was something that Maximals...Walkers had more control over. Since over time, they had been downgraded from equals to second class citizens and then to slaves. They had learned to be more in control of their animal instincts, proving that they were more than what their Predacon cousins thought themselves to be. For 'we' would still fall prey to our more beast-like behaviour as we believed ourselves superior, and felt that we were perfect. I too can still lose control to my more aggressive and monstrous side." the Primal said, gaining a nod from the blonde Bot.

"Ser-Ket was ashamed of that side of herself, never wanting to use it when we got into fights with other Predacons."

Onyx smiled again as he listened to Quickstrike.

"I think if Both Airazor and your Ser-Ket had a chance to meet, they would have liked each other. They certainly have a lot in common."

"What happened to Airazor?" the Autobot then asked, earning a thoughtful expression from Onyx.

"As I said before, Airazor and I had been very close friends all our lives. But it was not until she was branded a traitor for helping some Walkers and then tortured, that I realised just how much she meant to me." the Maximal replied as his mind was flooded with memories of he and his Spark-mate.

"When I confessed how I felt about her, Ser-Ket revealed that she felt the same and we became spark-mates. We were together during the entirety of the war, We even had designs on what we were going to do after it. But in the final days of the conflict, it all fell apart..." he said as a regretful expression befell his face, earning a sympathetic expression from the blonde Bot.

"Why?"

"Because of Predaking!" Onyx then replied, as he found himself replaying the memory in his mind.

_'_ _T_ _he battle was bloody and brutal with energon spilling everywhere, as the forces of the Predacons and the Maximals continued to rip each other apart either in their Cybertronain or Beast modes. The entire metallic valley, which was one of the few wide open spaces on Cybertron, had every square inch filled with bloody slaughter. In the midst of the battle, a green and yellow wingless dragon charged it's way through the enemy line, sending numerous Terracons flying through the air. It roared into the air, as if to signal others around it. But suddenly found itself surrounded, as another group of Terracons ripped its way through the few Bot-formed Maximals that were standing between them and it._

_The group was made up of three beasts and two Cybertronians, the former growled while the latter flashed evil grins as they readied their blades. But the yellow and green beast looked up_ _behind_ _them and gave of_ _f_ _another roar, which made the enemies look back just moments before a jet black dragon flapped it's wings and swooped down, ploughing into them. The Terracons stood no chance as it picked up the two Bots an_ _d_ _carried them i_ _n_ _to the air, leaving the beasts injured and unprepared as the yellow and green Dragon pounced on Both, quickly killing them with a throat rip from it's powerful jaws._

_The black dragon then dropped it's two passengers back down into the battling masses, then flew back round and landed in the open area in front of the yellow and green beast. Both_ _dragons_ _looked at each for a second before transforming into two armoured Cybertronians, one was Onyx Primal, while the yellow and green beast transformed in to an Cybertronian Femme with light armour over an athletic build._

_"Airazor are you alright?" he asked with a concerned and caring expression, while she smiled back and flicked off some energon off her sharp fingers._

_"Yes, thank you for the assist Onyx. Though you know I could have taken them." she replied, gaining a nod from the Maximal Bot."_

_"I know, but I could see you from over head...I can always spot you." he said back with an affectionate tone, which would have made the Femme blush had she been able. And she would have said something back, but noticed that the Terracons were coming back._

_"I guess we will have to put this moment on hold, until after we win this battle." she replied as Onyx noticed the incoming enemies, the two partners then equipped their swords and readied themselves._

_"Their timing could be better." he said, earning a smirk from his spark-mate before they Both charged into the Terracons, cutting down the foes as they did so and spilled yet more energon in their path._

_"So I take it since the Terracons are being pushed in the direction of my forces, that your plan was successful." the Femme asked as she sliced the head off one enemy unfortunate enough not to dodge her attack._

_"Yes, my own forces have hit their northern front lines hard, pushing them further back into their own reserves." he replied while slicing then neck open of one Terracon, who in a frenzied panic stabbed his own mate in the side and killed him. But before he could bleed out, the Primal then sliced his head off as he and Airazor finished off the other two in easy fashion._

_"Your idea to split up our forces and attack from different directions certainly looks to be working." the Femme said as the pair stood in the center of the bloody mess._

_"Yes, this should make Predaking show his face now. I know he is here, I can smell him." Onyx replied before another wingless dragon burst out of the battle around the pair and ran up to them, this one had a three horns ranging from small to large on it's snout as it stopped before them._

_"Rhinox!" the Maximal leader exclaimed as his friend transformed into a heavily built grey and green Cybertronian with red eyes._

_"Primal, we are almost through their lines. Rat-Trap has sent word that a number of Predaking's_ _lieutenants_ _have appeared to regain control of the battle."_

_"Which means their leader cannot be far behind." Airazor added_ _, earning a confident smile from Onyx._

" _Right, So I want you two to hold our attack along with Jawbreaker and Nightshriek. I meanwhile will make myself known, so that if Predaking is out there then he will come to me…" the Maximal Leader said, gaining acknowledging nods from his friends._

"… _and I will kill him." he added._

" _With their Alpha dead, the Predacons will fall into disarray. So Airazor and I will make sure our forces maintain their focus in what should be our final battle. Good luck Primal, till all are one." Rhinox replied before transforming back into his beast form and returning to the battle. Airazor then walked right up to her spark-mate and cupped his face in her hand._

" _I will be here when you are done my love."_

" _I will see you soon." he replied as he lowered his head to her own, letting them touch as he placed his hand on her chest-plate and she did the same._

" _Go get him." she said back before he stepped back and nodded, then transformed back into his beast mode and flew up into the air. Airazor then did the same and rejoined the battle, fighting her way through the Terracons who were too preoccupied with her Maximal Brothers and Sisters._

_Meanwhile Onyx swooped back down into the battle, destroying one Terracon as he transformed back into his Cybertronian self, cutting down another enemy with his blade as his parts finished shifting around. He then impaled another in the face with a second blade that had ejected from the Bot's armoured gauntlet, before ripping that blade back out and spinning around and slicing open the chest of another who was attacking from behind him. As the bodies fell around the Maximal Leader, he could not help but wonder where his former blood brother was._

' _Where is he? How many of his men do I have to kill?' he thought as he then defended himself from several more Terracons who charged at him. But as each one fell to his blades, falling to the ground to join their fallen comrades. A familiar roar echoed through the sky, making Onyx look up to see the silhouette of Predaking's dragon form soaring through the sky as if watching the entire battle._

_The Primal then transformed back into his beast mode and roared back, hoping to gain the Predacon Leader's attention. The beast then looked directly at Onyx and growled, but instead of flying straight for him, Predaking turned his yellow optics to an area far ahead of the Maximal and then roared as if he had spotted a target more to his choosing. The massive dragon then dived down at the area making Oynx look at what his former friend was heading, straining his optics to zoom in._ _What his optics saw made them widen in horror as he saw Airazor fighting Scorponok and Blight, completely unaware of the danger flying down at her._

_So the Maximal leader began running back, barging past fellow soldiers and enemies a like, Not caring about anything else but his Spark-mate. But before he had gotten within a hundred yards of her, Predaking landed beside the Femme who had just finished off Blight and Scorponok, the former had his head removed while the latter fell to ground with a bloody slice that went the length of his torso. Airazor turned round to see the Predacon leader transform into his heavily armoured bipedal form, a dark smile appearing on his face as he equipped his sword._

_So she took on a defensive stance and readied herself to fight. Onyx though found himself slowed down by a large group of Predacon soldiers who like a dam, stopped him and caused the Bot to fight despite the fact that his love was facing their most skilled and deadly warrior. Even as he fought back against the Terracons, Onyx could not keep his attention off Airazor or Predaking as the two began fighting with the Femme defending against the much larger Con's heavy attacks. The Predacon leader swung his blade down at the Maximal who just managed to block the attack with her own sword, but did not have the strength to equal that of Predaking, so did enough to allow her to roll out of the way and gain some space between her and him._

_Then the orange and black Con attacked again, which the Femme dodged before swiping her blade up through the air which caught Predaking's face, creating a slice from his cheek to his forehead in a diagonal cut. The Predacon grimaced as he pulled back, once again giving Airazor a moment to catch her breath. But just after he wiped the dripping energon from his face, the Con's yellow optics narrowed and he stared daggers at her before roaring and charging her. Onyx had just killed several Terracons in a row and finally cleared a path to the pair, but he looked up and suddenly felt his spark shatter as he witnessed Predaking breaking through Airazor's defences and stab her through the chest._

_The Femme coughed up energon as she dropped her weapon which fell to the ground, with her quickly following as she collapsed to her knees. Onyx felt everything slow down around him as he screamed at the top of his voice while more Terracons moved in around him. But all he could do was watch as Predaking stood over Airazor who looked up at him and spat energon in his direction, but the Con just wiped the liquid from his chest-plate and smiled back before glancing over in Onyx's direction, seeing the look of pure horror and desperation on his face before looking back to the Femme._

_The Maximal Leader's optics then fell back to Airazor's who was looking back at him just as Predaking brought his blade up and readied himself to strike. The pair just kept their optics on each other as the blade then swung down and sliced through her neck in one clean motion. The last thing Orion saw of Airazor was her head separating from her body as energon gushed out all over the place.'_

That image was forever burned into the Maximal's mind as he found himself back in the Normandy's cargo-bay with Quickstrike, who was looking back at him with a sorrowful and sympathetic expression.

"I am so sorry Onyx." the blonde Autobot said, gaining a nod from the larger Bot.

"I never even got the chance to avenge Airazor's death, as the Cataclysm happened almost directly after. But what hurts my spark the most, is never hearing her call my name or feeling the warmth of her own spark with my own." the Maximal leader replied.

"I know what you mean…" Quickstrike said back with a knowing tone.

"...I would give anything to have Ser-Ket back in my arms, nothing would be out of bounds." he added.

"But the truth is…..we can't, no matter how much we want it. All we can do is live on and carry their memory within us, despite how much it hurts." Onyx replied, earning an accepting nod from Quickstrike as the pair stood there in silence.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Six-Shot marched up the corridor, his entire being was enraged by what he had witnessed on Shockblast's terminal. The Con had watched every video that had been decrypted from what he found out was Galvatron's private database, which had raised another question in his mind.

' _Why did Shockblast go out of his to break into Galvatron's terminal, what made him want to do such a thing?_ ' he thought as he turned a corner and spotted one of Bridge's Terracons walking toward him.

"Soldier, is Lord Galvatron on the Bridge?" he asked, in a tone that hid the majority of the anger he was feeling at this point.

"No sir, our Lord is currently in his quarters." the Terracon replied, gaining a silent nod from his superior as he walked past.

"I believe he said he was not to be disturbed." the soldier added, but this fell on deaf ears as Six-Shot continued onwards, leaving the minion somewhat confused as he stood there in the corridor and watched.

In his quarters, Galvatron was busy looking through the reports he had received from the Captains of ships in the Predacon fleet. But his attention was caught by the door to his room opening, making him turn to see Six-Shot standing in the doorway with his pistol equipped and pointed at the Predacon Leader. He had a look of pure hate on his face as he narrowed his eyes at Galvatron.

"Six-Shot, what is the meaning of this!" he blasted as he got up from his desk and stood before his lieutenant.

"You dare to ask questions of me? After what you did to Shockblast and myself." the Predacon spat back as he just entered the room, but not enough to make the door close behind him. Galvatron stared back in surprise, completely caught off guard by his minion's words.

"So...you know, but how?"

"That is not important, the fact that my Brother and I are not actually Predacons but are...Autobots!" Six-Shot replied.

"You should be thanking me since when we originally met, you and your Brother were weak and pathetic Cybertronians. But I reformatted you into stronger, more powerful beings." Galvatron said back in a justifying-like tone as he slowly moved his hand down toward his holstered pistol, but the other Predacon noticed and gestured for him to stop.

"Don't even think about it. You know I can't believe that we nearly killed that Asari for you, she was telling the truth about what you had done to us all along. Neither of us will ever remember the lives that you stole from us, and I can think of only one way to repay you for that." he said as his trigger finger started to tighten around his weapon's trigger but before he could end the Predacon Leader's life, a gunshot sounded out from behind him which made him flinch suddenly.

"Ugh!" he grimaced as he looked up at Galvatron in with a confused expression.

"What?" he added before falling to his knees as the Predacon Lord watched in surprise, then his eyes suddenly focused on the figure of Shockblast who walked into view and entered the doorway, earning a shocked look from his injured Brother.

"Shockblast? Why?" he said as blood filled his mouth, but the other Con merely looked down at him with a blank expression before aiming the pistol at Six-Shot's head and pulling the trigger. The shot went straight through his Brother's head, spattering blood on the wall of the doorway, before the body fell to the ground the head shot and back shot clear for Galvatron to see.

"Thank you Shockblast." the Predacon Lord said back in a relieved manner, as the other Con looked down at the corpse of his late brother.

"Shockblast?" he asked again, making his Lieutenant turn his attention to him.

"It was logical to ensure that there would be no witnesses." Shockblast replied as he stared blankly at Galvatron, who's own expression had changed to confused.

"What?" he replied as the other Con suddenly aimed his weapon at him.

"I should never have agreed to clone you from my Liege...Megatron." Shockblast said back coldly, making Galvatron's eyes widen in shock.

"Shockwave?" he muttered back, gaining a nod from the Decepticon possessed Predacon.

"That is correct, it gives me a very logical sense of pride to finally be called by my actual name." Shockwave replied while never taking his aim from the Predacon leader.

"How...How are you here?" Galvatron asked in return.

"It took me a while to formulate a logical reason, but I would say that I am here because my memories slowly overcame the mind of the one you called Shockblast. Therefore I now exist in this form and the other is forever erased." Shockwave replied as he stepped closer to his target.

"Once I knew that I was really here and in full control of this body, I began reading the Predacon files to discover what you had been up to since your reawakening, as well as decrypting your personal database. I never did find out what was there, but it is logical to believe that Six-Shot did so and that is the reason he was here to kill you, something that I will complete now."

"Shockwave wait, if the details of your sudden resurrection are true. Then it is because of 'me' that this happened." Galvatron pleaded knowing that he had to change his tactics to deal with this Decepticon, who would have no qualms with killing him there and then.

"Explain?" the Con replied with an emotionless tone.

"It was I that convinced Shockblast to download your memories into his mind, had I not then you would never have come to be here now."

"That is true, but I do not think that this is enough to not terminate your spark." Shockwave said back.

"True, but you said that you have studied our files. So surely you can see that I have accomplished more in my short time as Leader of Predacons, than Megatron ever did with his Decepticons." Galvatron replied with a confident tone underlining his words, earning a curious look from the Decepticon.

"That is logical, but?"

"But? But what? You have been given a second chance at life Shockwave, something that would never have occurred if it not been for me. So instead I offer you a place among my Predacons, so that you can assist me with the conquering of this galaxy." the Predacon Lord added, while Shockwave continued to stare back curiously.

"...And you will be able to continue with your scientific endeavours, no matter what they are." Galvatron then finished, a confident smile appearing on his face as he looked at the Decepticon who just stood there in a frozen pose. His gun still pointed at the Predacon Leader, though he had yet to pull the trigger.

"So will you join me or will you fire your weapon, killing me and making you a target to every Predacon on this ship? The choice is yours Shockwave, I hope you make the logical one." Galvatron added while Shockwave stood there and contemplated his answer as the door to his quarters closed behind him.


	31. Chapter 31

Liara and Nightracer sat at their respective terminals, busy searching through the data that had been retrieved from the Predacon lab on Cybertron. They had both been at this for a few hours now, having found a number of entries that were interesting and informative about their enemies, and were completely focused on their work. So much so that neither even blinked when the door behind them opened, with Orion entering while carrying a tray with two mugs of coffee on it.

"Thought you two could use a pick-me-up." the blue haired Bot said, earning the women's attention as turned to face him.

"You read my mind Orion." Nightracer replied as she took one of the hot mugs in her hands and smelt the aroma.

"Definitely need a caffeine fix now." she added before taking a sip of the drink, while Liara gave Orion a very appreciative smile as he handed her the second mug.

"You know, you didn't need to bring me a drink just so you could see me Orion." the Asari said with coy-like tone and smile, which made the Bot almost blush as he stood there in front of her.

"I know..." he said back with a smile, before Nightracer faked a cough which made both Orion and Liara snap out of their little moment.

"...So how are you two getting along with the Intel?" the Bot asked with a slightly guilty tone, as he had forgotten that the Femme was even there.

"We have come across a lot of interesting and helpful data about the Predacons in the project of the same name." Nightracer replied before taking another sip of her drink.

"And we have also come across a number of coordinates that had been deciphered from Project Iacon, half of them were already highlighted as found." Liara added as she brought up the data on one of her holo-screens.

"I remember my Dad telling me stories about this, since it happened during the Earth-bound part of the Autobot/Decepticon War. These marked coordinates are where both sides had found a number of relics and weapons which had been launched from Cybertron, with the Star Saber being the last one to be located." Orion said back, gaining nods from the women.

"That is only because these last few coordinates are located elsewhere in the galaxy, so I guess neither the Autobots or Decepticons were able to search for these last ones." the Asari replied.

"I wonder what the those ones are, maybe something like the 'Blades of Time' or the 'Requiem Blaster'." Nightracer said with a curious expression as she brought the images of both up on her own screen, earning the attention of Liara and Orion.

"Who knows, but we should send this data back to Autobot Command. They can then send out ships to these other co-ordinates and retrieve whatever is there, better they are in our hands than the Predacons." the blue haired Bot said.

"We were going to do just that." Liara said back with a knowing look, before turning her attention to the holo-screen on her far left which had the image of a bar scrolling from left to right and a percentage counting upwards on it.

"What's this doing?" Orion then asked as he looked at the screen.

"It's just decrypting another portion of the Intel..." Liara replied before it suddenly stopped at one hundred percent and pinged.

"...and it is done." she added as she typed on the holo-interface, bringing up a list of codes which made Nightracer's eyes widen as she recognised them.

"By the All-spark, we have just hit the jackpot." she exclaimed as Orion's face mirrored her own as he too recognised it.

"What are they?" Liara asked with a confused tone, having noticed the looks on her friends faces.

"They are Predacon communication frequencies, we can now listen in on the enemy." the blue haired Bot said back with a smile.

With this significant discovery now in their hands, the trio made their way to the CIC. Exiting the elevator to find Rodimus, Shen, Quickstrike, Smokescreen and Grunt standing next to the galaxy map, along with a holo-screen showing Onyx Primal looking back at them.

"So your saying we can now eaves drop on the Predacons...thats awesome." Smokescreen said with an enthusiastic tone, one that gained mirroring looks from the others around him.

"That's right, we just need to cycle through the frequencies until we find the one they are using now." Nightracer replied as Orion activated his holo-tool and connected it with the galaxy map's holo-emitter, making the image of the galaxy disappear and replacing it with a com-link frequency program.

"Good work, so lets begin." Rodimus said as he looked over to Liara and Nightracer, earning nods in return from them as Orion tapped a button on his holo-tool and activated the program, which began to search through each frequency.

"With this, we will be able to stop any Predacon attack before it happens. Maybe even figure out the locations of all their ships, letting us take the offensive." Grunt observed before the program suddenly stopped on one frequency and analysed it.

"Looks like we have found one." Orion stated before an unfamiliar voice suddenly spoke from the CIC speakers.

_"This is the former Omega cruiser 'Venture' to the 'Nemesis', do you read?"_

" _Acknowledged, read you loud and clear._ " a female voice replied, one that several of the group recognised, especially Quickstrike.

"Rip-Claw!" he said, his voice tinged with anger.

"Quiet." Rodimus said back as everyone focused on the transmission.

" _We are currently in the Traverse, near the galactic core. Orbiting a planet which the database calls 'Scissio'. It's data file claims that the planet is uninhabited and yet we are detecting an energy reading from it's northern hemisphere, it is only just readable but I believe that Lord Galvatron wished to be notified if we found such a reading._ " the Venture's officer said back.

"T _hat is correct, I will inform our Lord of your finding. Good work Venture, we will be there shortly….Nemesis out._ " Rip-Claw finished, ending the transmission.

"Looks like we have our next destination." Grunt said, gaining a nod from Rodimus.

"Indeed, I will relay this information back to Autobot Command." he said before tapping his com-link.

"Jetstorm, I am sending you some coordinates, please set a course for this planet and prepare to engage the space-bridge generator."

"Roger that." the pilot replied as the Commander then turned his attention to Orion.

"Better get your team ready, we will be moving momentarily."

"Yes sir." his XO replied before looking back at the others.

"Lets get suited up." the blue haired Bot the said, gaining nods from everyone else as they headed for the elevator and got inside, with it's doors closing behind them once the group had entered it. Once gone, Rodimus returned his attention to the galaxy map and activated his holo-tool.

"Get me a secure channel to Autobot Command."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

The doors to Galvatron quarters opened and both the Predacon Lord and Shockwave exited the room together, as the former placed his hand on the latter's shoulder.

"You have made the right choice Shockwave, together we will strengthen the Predacons and truly bring this galaxy under our rule. This will be the age of the Predacons."

"If I may say, I do not believe that it would be logical to let the rest of them know of my real identity. It is doubtful that they would understand." the Decepticon replied, gaining a nod from Galvatron.

"I agree, it will be easier to convince the others of Six-Shot's duplicity since he has shown elements of it already, very well. When you are out among the rest, you are to keep Shockblast's identity. I alone will call you by your real name and then only when we are alone."

Then before either Con could speak again, the ship's inter-com activated.

"Lord Galvatron, this is Rip-Claw speaking." the Femme then announced, earning a low growl from the Predacon Leader.

"Yes, I read you. What is it?" he replied with a sour tone to his voice, which was easily picked up by the Femme.

"...uh… my Lord...one of our ships, the Venture has picked up an anomalous reading on a planet in the Traverse."

Galvatron's eyes widened as he realised what this meant, and that was not the only sign he received as he felt his Master's presence surround him again.

" **That is where the Chaos Edge lies my Herald, I can feel it in 'our' spark.** " Unicron's voice spoke in the mind of the Predacon Leader.

' _I agree Master._ ' he thought back, earning a curious expression from Shockwave.

"My liege...?" he asked, before Galvatron looked back at him after a moment of silence.

"Yes..."

"You had gone quiet for a moment, is everything alright?" the Decepticon replied.

"Yes, everything is fine..." the Predacon Lord said back as he felt Unicron's presence fade away again, and then returned his attention to the inter-Com.

"Rip-Claw, have the planet's coordinates plotted into the space bridge generator and open a portal. I will join you in the CIC at once." he commanded.

"Yes my Lord." the Femme replied before the transmission ended, leaving Galvatron alone with Shockwave again.

"I should return to my laboratory and restart my projects again." the Decepticon stated, earning a nod from his leader.

Of course Shockwave. Also, there is something I will have transported there for you later on." Galvatron replied, gaining a curious expression from Shockwave.

"Something?"

"More like someone. A person who has betrayed our cause. I have read your files on this….person, she has disgusted me that much that I can not even bring myself to say her name. But you have a lot of experience with her and I believe you can correct her and return the Femme to our ranks." the Predacon Leader answered.

"Of course my Liege." Shockwave replied before walking away towards an elevator while Galvatron headed towards the CIC.

A moment later and the Predacon Lord entered the Command center to the sight of a space bridge vortex opening beyond the glass canopy that separated the Predacons there from the void of space, the green energy of the portal pulsing before them.

"Report!" Galvatron commanded as he joined Rip-Claw on the catwalk that overlooked the Terracons, who were working at their stations below.

"My Lord, the Nemesis is ready to join the Venture in orbit around Scissio. Only your word is required to proceed." the Femme replied.

"The word is given, take us to Scissio." he said back, earning a nod from the Terracon at the helm. And then almost instantly the Nemesis began moving toward the space-bridge, it's bright green spiral growing larger as they closed in.

"Rip-Claw, stand at ease." Galvatron then said, earning a confused and uncertain expression from the Femme.

"My Lord?"

"I know what you are thinking, but you can relax. Six-Shot has taken on your punishment." the Predacon Leader replied, gaining a surprised look from her instead.

"What?" the Femme said back in an almost stunned tone, while Galvatron stared back with resolute stare.

"He attacked me and I killed him for it, because I will not suffer insubordination from anyone under my command….is that clear?"

Yes sir, does that mean you are giving me another chance. Because I feel shame, all the way to the core of my spark for failing you on Omicron." Rip-Claw replied with a regretful tone, earning a nod from the Predacon Lord who narrowed his eyes at her.

"Yes, but now stop your grovelling or else I will change my mind." he spat back, gaining a sudden alert expression from the Femme who began to step away and nod.

"Yes sir, of course. Just give me an order and I will see it done." she replied with a tinge of fear in her voice, making Galvatron roll his eyes before staring back at her.

"I want you to prepare a platoon of Terracons to join me down on the planet along with Blight, Vertebreak, Lazerback and Darksteel. I also want Predaking, Skystalker and Grimwing on standby in case we have any trouble with the Autobots and their own Predacon beast appear, though that should be highly unlikely."

"Of course my Lord, I will see it done." Rip-Claw replied before turning around and walking out of the CIC just as the Nemesis entered the vortex, then a bright flash later the view changed as Galvatron could see a brown and green planet beyond the glass canopy as the ship exited the portal and entered orbit of Scissio with the Venture entering formation alongside it.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

While the Predacons began to ready their ground-forces on their side of the planet, the Normandy in its stealth mode entered Scissio's orbit on it's other side. In the Cargo-bay, the entire team were readying themselves for the fight ahead as they checked their armour and weapons. Rodimus entered the room and immediately gained everyone's attention as they stared in surprise, since the Commander was in his own armour.

"Rodimus, your coming with us on this one?" Smokescreen asked, gaining a nod from the leader as he walked over to the weapons locker and picked out a pistol and assault rifle.

"Yes, since Autobot Command feels that this mission could be the most significant engagement of our conflict with the Predacons." he replied, earning a smile from the Bot and a nod from Grunt who stood at his side.

"It's been too long since we last fought together." the Krogan replied as he placed a hand on the Commander's shoulder for a second.

"So what is the mission?" Shen asked, gaining the trio's attention.

"Our sensors have detected two signals from the planet's surface, which are both within several kilometres of each other. One is the strange energy signature...the very reason that the Predacons are even here, while the other was a ground-bridge of which two MAKOs and a platoon of Terracons exited from." Rodimus said back before looking over at Orion.

"Now one of the vehicles has left the area, moving towards the mystery reading. Which means that the other MAKO and the remaining troops make up a sort of FOB."

"Why's that then? I mean surely they could just open another ground-bridge elsewhere." Quickstrike said back with a confused tone, making the Autobot Commander shake his head in return.

"Well this planet is certainly very different from most planets in our galaxy, our sensor scans have picked up an anomalous energy reading which appears to surround and bind the planet to its very core." Rodimus said as he activated his holo-tool and brought up the scans of Scissio.

"I am no scientist, but it looks like the planet is only half here and half elsewhere. The only really solid piece of information here is that it is in an unstable condition." he added as Liara stepped toward the image with a thoughtful expression.

"What your talking about sounds like a dimensional flux." she said, gaining curious looks from everyone.

"Could we get an explanation to go with that please?" Shen then asked.

"It was a theory I remember hearing about that was doing the rounds in the Asari Scientific community, though I do not remember the name of the individual who produced the theory. But 'dimensional flux' is when something has been caught between two separate but neighbouring dimensions or universes. Like most Asari I did not take to this theory since there had never been any evidence to support the claim, I guess we were all wrong." the Asari replied.

"Well theories aside, whatever the planet is going through will hinder our ground and space-bridge ability inside it's atmosphere, just like it has for the Predacons. We can only open up a Vortex in one location, that is why the enemy are defending that area. It is their only avenue back to the Nemesis." Rodimus replied, earning a nod from Orion.

"So I take it we will be taking the area back from them." he said back with a knowing tone.

"Exactly, we will attack their beach-head after Galvatron has left to investigate the anomalous reading. Then we will split up into two teams, Orion you will take your team and pursue the Predacon leader. Your job will be to stop him from acquiring whatever it is that he is after. My team will stay and prepare an ambush, on the off chance you are not successful." the Commander replied, before looking over at the others.

"Smokescreen, Grunt, you will be with me and Shen, you will take up a sniper position."

The three nodded as Orion Stood beside the others not already named by Rodimus.

"So I will take Liara, Quickstrike and Nightracer with me after Galvatron."

"Yes...and Onyx, if you could join us too. Just on the chance that the other Predacon beasts appear." the Commander added, earning a nod from the Maximal on the holo-screen.

"Of course." he replied, gaining a confident smile from Rodimus who then tapped his com-link.

"Alright, Jetstorm prepare to open a ground-bridge at the coordinates stated, we will let Onyx through first before the rest of us follow through..." he said before equipping his rifle and looking back at the others.

"...Lets get on with it."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Down on the surface of Scissio, its landscape was a mixture of mountains and hill-like terrain. The later being covered mostly in grass, giving a strong green vibe to the it which was well balanced against the brown dirt of the mountains. Standing in what could only be described as a valley, a Terracon was walking round the currently not in use MAKO, keeping vigil as he patrolled the area alongside his comrades when his com-link activated.

"Th…is…..Galva…tron….rep..rt… ." the Predacon Leader spoke over the link, earning a confused expression from the soldier.

"My Lord? I can not understand, there is too much interference over the com-link." he replied with a slightly fearful tone, like he could just imagine the reaction of his leader at this very moment.

" !…I…ca..nt…ma..e…yo…ot!" Galvatron spat back through the crackling and hissing noises, and the tone of his voice sent dread through the Terracon's spark before the transmission fizzled out.

"My Lord? My Lord?" he said back before his attention was caught by what sounded like a strong wind in the distance.

"Did you hear that?" he said to the other Terracon closest to him, earning the Con's attention.

"Yeah, sounds like we might have a storm on the way." his friend said back, making him shake his head in return.

"This whole planet is wrong, I mean there isn't just the energy reading that Lord Galvatron is investigating. Everything here is strange, from the anomalous readings that this place is giving off and now weather patterns that come out of nowhere. I just want to get back to the ship."

Then the wind picked up again, earning the attention of every Terracon there as they stood alert, with their weapons ready.

"I don't think that sounds like a..." another soldier said before suddenly a jet black Dragon flew low overhead, with the Terracons caught in his wake being knocked to the ground by it's force.

"That's not one of ours." one Terracon said as the beast flew back around and started to circle the group, making the enemies fire back with their weapons once they got back to their feet.

"That one is with the Autobots, kill it." the lead Terracon ordered, while another equipped a rocket launcher and aimed it at the Dragon.

"Fire!"

The soldier then pulled the trigger and fired the rocket, which shot soared up into the air towards the giant beast. Unfortunately for the group, the black dragon had spotted the incoming projectile and managed to evade it, by spinning around onto it's back and folding in it's wings. The beast then started to fall, but this was enough to make the projectile miss it's target and fly over the metallic creature harmlessly as continued into the open air behind it. The black dragon the turned it's body back round and extended it's wings, catching the air beneath them and stopping it's decent as the beast began to fly again.

"Damn it..." the lead Terracon spat before he interrupted by the sound of a rifle being shot echoed around him, making the Con look around until he saw one of his comrades fall dead to the ground.

"We're under attack, defend the area." he shouted before kneeling down and tapping his com-link.

"Lord Galvatron, we are under attack. I repeat we are..." he said in a hurried and alert tone before he was quickly cut off by a bullet flying straight through his head.

"Now" Rodimus then shouted as he and the rest of the Autobots revealed themselves from their hiding places in the long grass, gunning down the hapless Terracons who stood in their way. Meanwhile above everyone else, Onyx Primal opened his jaws and released several fireballs which hit spots around the battle, trying to scare the enemy even more. Which was working as several panicked when the ground burst to into flames near them, making them scramble into view of the other Bots who then gunned them down.

But as the Terracons positioned in the open around the beach head fell, there were three who were using the remaining MAKO as cover so that they could safely return fire against their enemies. Orion was in a kneeling position as he fired back at the Terracons and beside he stood Liara, who had erected a biotic barrier to protect them.

"Liara, you can make this barrier move with us right?" he asked as the Asari had her hands outstretched before her, focusing on maintaining the barrier.

"Of course, why are you asking?" she replied with a curious tone, earning a confident smile from the blue haired Bot with bullets continued to impact against the energy field in front of them.

"Then lets get those Terracons." he said, gaining a smile from Liara who nodded and then looked back towards the enemy soldiers, who were still firing at them despite none of their shots penetrating the barrier. So the pair started to move forward, toward the Terracons who tried nothing else other than what they had already been doing.

Liara kept her mind focused on the barrier, pushing aside any thoughts that could weaken the energy field as Orion holstered the assault rifle on his back in the right slot and then unsheathed the Star-Saber, before readying himself to attack as the pair were now only a few feet from the Terracons, while the rest of the Autobots finished off the others. The enemies then suddenly dropped their weapons and launched themselves at the Bot and Asari, activating their beast modes and becoming enraged.

"Now!" the blue haired Bot exclaimed as Liara dropped the barrier and Orion swung the Saber at the nearest Terracon, it's blade glowing blue as it sliced clean through the enemy. Meanwhile his Asari companion used a biotic slam to knock the Terracon closest to her into the side of the MAKO, as Orion moved onto the next beast-like soldier while his first kill lay on the ground in two parts. He sliced off it's arm with the Star Saber before running the blade through it's chest, making the beast-man cry out in pain. The Spectre then quickly pulled the Saber back out and immediately decapitated the Terracon, before noticing that all the enemies in the area were now dead.

"Wow." Quickstrike exclaimed, making both Orion and Liara turn round to see the blonde Bot staring at the Star-Saber in his cousin's hand, it's blade still glowing a gentle blue.

"I thought you couldn't use it like that, I mean only a Prime can make it glow that way…right?"

The blue haired Bot looked back and shrugged his shoulders.

"I just focused on the blade, but I cannot unleash energy waves. I guess that feature really does require you to be a Prime." he replied with a slightly uncomfortable tone, having noticed that everyone else was now standing around the pair with impressed expressions on their faces, just as Onyx Primal landed and transformed back into his Cybertronian form.

"I could do with a blade like that." Grunt said a somewhat jealous tone, which earned a smirk from Smokescreen as he stood beside him.

"You don't need it Grunt, you can tear people apart with your bare hands." he joked, earning a low growl from the Krogan.

"Good job everyone, phase one of the plan is a success. We have control of the beach-head, now…." Rodimus began to say before stopping short, since his attention was drawn to Shen running up to the group from his sniper-spot.

"Shen, what you doing here?"

"Rodimus, I thought I would come down and tell you guys in person that our com-links will not work." the Turian replied, gaining a confused expression from the Commander.

"What are you talking about….." he replied before tapping his com-link.

"…Normandy come in…..Normandy, this is Rodimus….come in?"

But the only response Rodimus received was static, so he looked back at Shen who had a knowing expression in return.

"My sniper rifle has a micro-phone that can pick up conversations at certain ranges, and I could see that the Terracons were having similar issues trying to contact Galvatron."

"So that means we can't keep in touch with each other or the ship….perfect." Quickstrike replied with a tinge of annoyance in his tone.

"Well then, it's a good job that I have a remote control to the ground-bridge isn't it." Rodimus said back as he activated his holo-tool, revealing the remote trigger to the team.

"Now that is a relief." Shen said as Orion took a step towards the Commander.

"But this also gives us an advantage, since the Terracons would be unable to warn Galvatron that we were here." the young Darby said, gaining a nod from Rodimus.

"Exactly, and we should get a move on. So Orion, take the MAKO with your team and intercept Galvatron. My team and I will dig in here and prepare a surprise for the Predacons, should they manage to get back with whatever it is they are after."

"Alright, Liara, Nightracer, Quickstrike. Lets go." the blue haired Bot said back as he opened the vehicle's door access hatch with his holo-tool, then the two women and his cousin got inside before the Spectre took one last look at Rodimus and the others.

"Good luck."

"Good luck to us all Orion." the Commander replied, earning a nod from the blue haired Bot before he got into the MAKO and closed the hatch behind him. Then the vehicle's engine activated and it moved away from the area, following the tracks left by Galvatron's as the other team watched.

"Alright, Shen get back to your spot and keep an eye out. Smokescreen, Grunt….time to dig in." Rodimus then said, earning nods from the others as they began preparing for what could likely be the last battle.


	32. Chapter 32

As the MAKO traversed the grass covered plains, following the tracks left by Galvatron and his own vehicle. Orion sat in the driver's seat and controlled the heavily armoured tank via it's holo-interface directly in front of him, Liara sat beside him in the passenger's seat while Nightracer and Quickstrike were located behind them.

"Orion, your noticing this too right?" the Asari asked while gesturing to environment they were passing through, earning a curious look from the Spectre.

"If you mean how the vegetation is slowly disappearing around us, yes I have noticed this Liara." he replied as both looked at the monitors in front of them, showing the greenery which had been so prominent when they had arrived on Scissio slowly decaying to brown and grey rock and dirt.

"It must be something to do with the energy signal, which is getting stronger the more with close on it." Orion replied as he saw the environment they were passing through become even more desolate and lifeless, with the hilly terrain being replaced with a mountainous region.

"Er… guys, you noticing that?" Quickstrike asked as he pointed at one monitor, which was showing the outskirts of one set of small mountains that stretches across the horizon and yet had a curvature to it.

"I can't see the readouts from your console Orion, but my guess is that energy signature is coming from over those mountains ahead of us." the blond Bot added, making his cousin who look down at the sensors before nodding back.

"Yeah, that's where it is coming from. So I say we take this a little closer and then carry on by foot, hiding the MAKO behind one of those rock formations at their base."

"Good idea, the mountains are not shaped like what we have come to expect from mountains. I just ran a scan of the area ahead, it seems that this region was created from what looks like to me like an earthquake, one that started from where ever this energy signal is located and spread outwards." Liara replied as she focused on the holo-interface before her.

"Like when a tsunami is formed in an ocean?" Nightracer asked, gaining a nod from the Asari.

"Exactly, a very powerful event must have occurred just over those mountains that changed the environment to what it is now."

"And now Galvatron wants to get his hands on it." Quickstrike added, earning a serious expression from his cousin who looked back at the others.

"Lets make sure he doesn't then." he said as the MAKO continued to close in on the location.

Meanwhile just ahead of them, Galvatron sat in side passenger's seat of his MAKO with Lazerback in the drivers seat and looking at the holo-displays in front, while the other Predacons took up the aft section of the vehicle. Their journey was almost over as the MAKO reached the top, which made the Predacon's eyes widen as he stared at the image on the screen. For what it was like nothing he had seen before, as in front of the vehicle was an massive impact crater several miles wide. The mountain they had climbed was actually no mountain, but instead the crater's ejecta which ran it's entire circumfrance.

"That's unbelievable." Lazerback said, while the other Predacons and Terracons got up from their seats to look at the images appearing on the monitors.

"That is some powerful scrap that made that." Darksteel replied, earning a dark grin from Galvatron.

"And it will be mine. Lazerback, take us down to it's center now." he then added, gaining a nod from the Predacon as the MAKO drove down into the depths of the crater.

Several minutes later and the vehicle came to a abrupt stop, it's wheels kicking up some dust in the process before the access hatch on it's side opened up and Galvatron climbed out and took in his surroundings. For he was now standing in the Bottom of crater which was that deep, it had blocked out the sunlight and cooled the air around him and his Predacons.

"Chilly." Blight said as he saw his own breath in front of him while he and the others climbed out and joined their Leader. But Galvatron merely ignored his men as his attention was caught by what was directly in the center of the sunk-in area only a few metres away.

"There it is." he said while looking at two swords embedded in the ground blade first, one was rusty and ancient, looking somewhat familiar to Galvatron yet he could not put his finger on why, while the other pulsed with a red energy that was flowing down the engraved patterns on it's blade.

"What in the pit...why is there two swords embedded at the center of this crater." Lazerback asked with a confused tone, while his leader walked closer to the blades.

"My Lord, perhaps you should keep your distance. We know nothing of..." Vertabreak said with a worried tone, but Galvatron continued toward the blades, reaching out his hand to the hilt of the red one.

"There is nothing to fear, I know what I am doing." he replied while never taking his eyes off the sword.

"But..." the Predacon said back, before he was suddenly cut off by the sight of Galvatron gripping his hand around the weapon's hilt and pulling it out from the ground and into the air.

"The Chaos Edge, at last...it is back in 'my hands'." he exclaimed, gaining confused expressions from his Predacon warriors.

"What do you mean...back in your hands?" Lazerback asked before the ground, as if on cue started to shake as a tremor hit the crater from beneath.

"What in the scrap is happening now?" Blight said, his voice tinged with fear as the ground continued to shake. But even as this tremor shook the ground and area around them, Galvatron did not even notice as he looked up at the red glowing blade in his hand. But then he suddenly tensed up as if he was having a sort of seizure, his eyes glowed purple and the energy glowing from within the engravings changed from red to purple.

"What's happening to him?" Vertabreak exclaimed in a frightened tone, which made Blight rush over to his master and attempt to snap Galvatron out of it by grabbing his shoulder. But instead there was a flash of red ane purple energy which suddenly sent the Con flying.

"Blight!" Lazerback shouted as Vertebreak rushed to his hurt comrade and helped him back to his feet, all the while Galvatron continued to be frozen while holding aloft the blade.

"What's happened to him?" Vertebreak asked as the trio just stared at their Master.

"I have no idea, but don't touch him." Lazerback replied, gaining a knowing look from the Con.

"Yeah like I am going to try that now, after what just happened to Blight."

"But what can we do to help Lord Galvatron?" Lazerback asked as the three looked back at their Master, who was frozen to the spot as his mind became overwhelmed by images and sounds.

_'The Predacon Leader found himself standing in grass covered plains_ _as day gave way to night with 'dusk' taking over the sky above him_ _,_ _and he noticed that the plains_ _went on_ _for_ _as far as the eye could see. But as he_ _took in_ _his surroundings, his attention_ _was quickly turned_ _by the sounds of metal and foot falls approaching from behind him and so turned round to see an army of soldiers marching towards him in columns alongside what looked like tanks and other heavy_ _artillery_ _._

_They_ _looked almost Cybertronian in their features but_ _were wearing armour that looked alien to the Predacon Lord, which could only be described like liquid metal being held into smooth and sublime stylings that made the soldiers look god-like in their_ _appearance_ _. Each soldier was carrying a staff-like weapon in one hand and a circular shield in the other, while also keeping a sword holstered on their utility belts. The tanks and machinery_ _accompanying_ _them looked of similar design to their armour and weapons, and all ground vehicles were hovering nearly a foot off the ground as they moved, emitting a low white light from their under-carriage._

_'Must be some kind of anti-_ _gravity_ _tech.' Galvatron thought as he found himself in the center of this large army which continued onwards, and still none of the soldiers acknowledged Galvatron as they passed him, earning a confused expression from the Predacon._

_'Is this real? Why can't they see me?' he thought before suddenly everyone stopped, including the soldiers and the vehicles._

_'What is happening?' Galvatron could not help but think before his spark started to warm,_ _which made the Predacon look to his left just as a soldier stopped beside him. He certainly was no ordinary soldier as he was wearing a dark gold and bronze armour with matching helmet which had two curved spikes, on either side reaching for the heavens. His armour had a similar design with large curved spikes on his shoulder guards and smaller ones on his gauntlets, and his boots had two twin spikes covering his knees._

_Galvatron took a look at the newcomer's face and saw that he had a very well-trimmed beard that went down into a single point like the edge of a knife, as well as red glowing optics. And while this all earned a very familiar feeling from the Predacon Leader, it was not until this man unsheathed his blade that he truly recognised him._

' _That's the Chaos Edge…it's Unicron…..but that means that this must be before written history...I cannot believe my eyes.' he thought before another soldier wearing a similar gold and silver armour, which looked far less threatening and more like the armour that had been worn by Jackson Prime. This soldier looked very similar to Unicron except for the beard and blue optics, he also held in his right hand a blade which suddenly brought up the memories of Megatron inside the Predacon's mind._

' _That looks almost like the Star-Saber'.' he started to think before he was interrupted as Unicron turned to the other, looking right through Galvatron as though he was not even there._

" _How are you feeling Brother?" he asked, making the Predacon observer's eyes widen as he then knew who the second person was._

' _Primus!'_

" _I am ready Unicron, as are our forces. I just hope the others are ready with their own, or else this will be a very short battle." his brother replied before looking away to the eastern horizon with a concerned expression, which did not go unnoticed by Unicron._

" _Do not fret Primus, the others will be ready. And so will Theia, I doubt your bond-partner would wish to fight anywhere other than at your side in this battle." he said back in a supportive tone as he placed his free hand on Primus's shoulder._

" _She will be at your side by the time this battle is over, and we will all share in the glory of this day."_

" _I wish I shared your confidence brother, but then again you always did enjoy fighting more than I." Primus replied as he sighed, for he could see it in Unicron's optics….that desire for battle and warfare which had always eluded himself._

" _My brother, always worried for my well-being. Well fear not, for as long as you are fighting at my side, we will never be defeated….not even by this 'darkness' that has blighted our species since we arrived on this planet."_

" _You mean that 'mistake' the High Council should never have let happen." Primus replied, earning a knowing look from Unicron._

" _What the Council did was the for the best of all 'Aeonians', our Empire stretches across the entire universe because of their leadership. We are practically 'Gods' compared to the organic species we have come across in our expansion, so what is wrong with acquiring the power to make us so?"_

" _Because if God-hood is really meant to be in our reach, then fate will see it so. But because we tried to force it to happen, we instead brought on the very 'darkness' that we have barely held at bay." Primus replied, gaining an optic roll from his brother._

" _Even with the fate of our entire species on the line, you can still find the time to disagree with me Primus. I find it a small victory when we do agree on something."_

" _If the force behind creation wanted us to all be of one mind and opinion, then we would not have been given free will. Besides, despite all your grievances with us not being able to agree on most things. I know that deep down, you actually like arguing with me." Primus replied with a smirk, that made his brother sigh and smile back._

" _You know me so well brother."_

_Then before anything else could be said, one of the soldiers approached the brothers, making them both look in his direction._

" _Lord Unicron, Lord Primus. I have just received word from the other Lords….they are ready to attack when you are." he said, earning a nod from Unicron while his brother looked toward the plains directly in front of them._

" _That's good timing, because 'its' coming our way." he replied while raising his blade towards the massive black liquid-like mass which broke free from the ground and began moving towards the army and with that Unicron and Primus moved to the front-line and faced their men, while Galvatron continued to observe quietly._

" _Aeonians, hear me." Unicron shouted, earning the attention of each and every soldier within the range of his voice._

" _We stand on the edge of an abyss, with our sparks now the only light that stands against the void which threatens to consume the entire universe and ourselves with it. But we shall not fear the darkness for we are Aeonians. We never give up and we never fail, and so we will conquer this 'force' and prove once again to the entire cosmos why we were why we were the 'first'…and why we are still here!" he added while thrusting the Chaos Edge into the air._

" _For Aeonia!" he then screamed at the top of his voice, earning a mirrored reaction from every single Bot and Femme standing there in the army before him and his brother. Unicron then turned and thrust his sword toward the approaching darkness, Primus standing beside him with his Saber drawn._

" _Attack!" he then finished before both brothers then charged towards the danger, with their whole army following behind as they ran past Galvatron who could only watch as the battle began before his very eyes. But even though this unknown and undocumented event was occurring right in front of his being, he found his attention was taken by what looked like a star shining far more brightly in the sea of stars that blanketed the sky of Scissio. The Predacon Leader stared up at the constellation that this one brightest star was shining in, and a name came to his mind._

' _That must be where the planet Unicron was on about is located….'Aeonia'.' he thought before suddenly everything went white around him, making the Con close his eyes.'_

"Lord Galvatron…" a familiar voice then called, which made the Predacon Leader reopen his eyes and find himself surrounded by his lieutenants at the crater's center once again.

"…are you alright my Lord?" Lazerback asked while Galvatron looked around, as if still not entirely convinced look on his face.

"My Lord?" the Predacon then repeated, earning a nod from his Master who looked back at him and smiled.

"I am fine Lazerback…..and thanks to this relic, I know where the Predacon cause can achieve its greatest victory." he added while the others looked at the blade in his possession.

"What do you mean Lord Galvatron?" Blight replied with a curious expression.

"I was shown a vision of the distant past, a battle that was fought on this very planet." the Predacon Lord replied, which heightened the curiosity of the group as they stood round him.

"What battle, who was involved and what was it about?" Vertabreak asked.

"It does not matter Vertabreak, it has long since past and knowledge of it is not a requirement for our cause. But we need to get back to the Nemesis,so I can find our next destination via the galaxy map." Galvatron replied, earning a disappointed expression from the Con while the others looked ready to move.

"Your not going anywhere!" a voice suddenly spoke out, making his Lieutenants and Terracons turn round with their weapons to find Orion and his team standing in their way with their own weapons ready.

"Autobots!" Blight spat as he opened fire on their enemies, making the Bots dive for cover behind the boulders that were scattered around the area. The his comrades and the soldiers with them joined him as they kept the pressure with continuous fire on Orion and his friends, who returned the weapons fire in kind from the boulders, taking down three of the several Terracons supporting the other Predacons.

"Looks like we could use a hand here, they outnumber us three to one". Nightracer said, earning a smile from Orion who then shot two Terracons down in a row.

"I think we an handle them." he replied, as Quickstrike noticed the blade in the Predacon Leader's hand.

"What was that sword in Galvatron's hand?" he said over the sound of the gunfire to his cousin as Nightracer and Liara returned fire.

"I don't know, but we can't let him keep it." the blue haired Bot replied while the Asari next to him spotted the other blade still embedded in the ground next to the Predacon group.

"Is it me or does that look like your Star Saber?" she asked, earning a curious look from Orion as he took a glance at the said blade.

"It does look very similar, lets take care of his entourage so we can ask him." he replied with a hint of sarcasm, which made the others smile as his cousin killed another Terracon.

Meanwhile, Lazerback had noticed how quickly they were losing the advantage and looked back at his Master, a serious expression on his face.

"My Lord, we need to get you out of here." he said, gaining a nod from Galvatron.

"Yes, we can not afford for this distraction to delay us." he replied, as Blight emptied a clip against the Autobots and took cover to reload.

"Then Lazerback, you and Darksteel get our Lord out of here. Vertabreak and I can cover your escape." he said as he looked at them all, his expression was very serious and composed. They could see that he was committed to this decision, as did Vertabreak.

"Very well, but I will not leave you on this planet. Once we are clear, get free of this area and I will have a shuttle pick you up once I am back on the Nemesis." Galvatron replied, earning nods from the pair.

"What are they up to?" Quickstrike asked before suddenly a grenade was thrown into the open ground between the two groups.

"Grenade!" Nightracer shouted as they remained behind their cover as the device exploded, and the air was once again filled with gun fire as the Predacons continued their defence. Orion took a peek from behind his boulder and fired his weapon back at the enemies, killing the last Terracon before noticing that only two Predacons remained in the area.

"Where are the others?" he shouted to his friends who were still returning fire, which was impacting harmlessly against the large rocks that the Cons were behind.

"There, they are heading for their MAKO." Liara replied as she pointed to Galvatron, Lazerback and Darksteel who had made it to their vehicle.

"Damn it, we've got to stop them." the blue haired Bot stated with tinge of anger to his voice as they watched the MAKO then power up and take off back up to the top of the crater, before refocusing on the Predacons still attacking them.

On board the Predacon vehicle, Galvatron activated his holo-tool and began typing on it's keyboard, earning a puzzled expression from Darksteel.

"My Lord, what are you doing?"

"We cannot use our com-links down here, so I am sending a timed pulse signal that should pass through the interference in the atmosphere and to our ships."

"You mean something similar to what Humans called Morse code?" Lazerback asked while keeping his attention on his driving.

"Exactly, I found this data entry on the Federation database. And our computers should recognise and translate it for those on board, so that they can send us some back-up." the Predacon Leader replied while he continued to type, before then pressing the send button.

"Done, now we have no choice but to wait," he added, earning nods from his Predacons.

"Should we stop and wait, or carry on back to the ground-bridge? I mean there are probably Autobots there waiting for us," Lazerback replied.

"Carry on, we can't let them stop us." the Predacon Lord said back as their MAKO crossed over the crater-s ejecta and back down it's mountainous side.

While this was happening, Orion and his friends found themselves pinned down by the two remaining Predacons, as they had moved to two separate locations and were relentless in their attacks.

"Why couldn't it be just two Terracons remaining, they are so easy to kill compared to these guys." Quickstrike moaned between bursts from his rifle, earning a knowing expression from Nightracer.

"Because that's life, now quit your moaning and fight." she replied, which gained a smile from Liara who looked over to the Autobot Spectre beside her.

"That put him in his place."

"Yeah, but he has a point. Every moment we waste here is another step behind Galvatron. We need to end this now." Orion replied with a thoughtful expression, before looking back at the others.

"Do either of you have a grenade of some sort?"

Nightracer looked at her utility belt and showed it to her friend.

"I have a flash bang."

"That will do…" he replied back before looking at Liara who could read on his face what he was thinking.

"I will be ready, do you want me to kill them?" she said back.

"I just want them out of the way, we don't have time to be thorough." the blue haired Bot replied, earning a nod from her.

"Okay Quickstrike, we will fire on them on 'One' and then Nightacer will toss the flash bang on 'Two'…." he said back to the others over the gunfire, gaining a smile from Liara.

"And I go on 'Three'." she finished, earning a similar expression from the Bot.

"Exactly." he replied, the Asari nodding in return as the gunfire suddenly stopped and they could hear the Predacons reloading."

"One!" Orion then shouted as both he and his cousin got up and emptied their clips at the enemies who remained behind their cover.

"Two!" he then shouted as they both got back down and Nightracer tossed the grenade between the two Cons and dropped behind the boulder with the others.

"Scrap!" Blight shouted out loud before the grenade went off, giving off a blinding light to the entire area. Once it died down a split second later, he and Vertabreak stumbled out from their cover half blind and deaf.

"Three!" Orion then shouted as Liara stood up and using her biotics, lifted the two Cons into the air and slammed them into each other before throwing them back to the ground. She then looked back to see her friends stand up from behind the boulders.

"Nice." Quickstrike said back, while Nightracer gave the Asari a curious expression.

"Are they dead?"

"It doesn't matter, let's go. We need to stop Galvatron." Orion jumped in as he began to rush back up the crater's side, the others nodded in return and followed. But not before Liara activated her holo-tool and scanned an image of the ancient sword that still embedded in the ground there.

'This will be interesting.' she thought before glancing over to the two unconscious Predacons and then headning after her friends.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Back at the beach-head, Rodimus waited in the long grass with both Smokescreen and Grunt either side of him though several metres away, while they waited to see who would return from the signal's location. It was a thirty minute journey to the energy signal's location by MAKO and they had now been waiting fourty eight minutes, which was now showing amongst the others. Smokescreen had started a conversation with Shen over the com-link twice and twice Rodimus had to stop them, Grunt too was growing restless and had impatiently begun re-checking his weapons, but he remained quiet and that had Rodimus worried.

' _I hope the others are alright, I just wish there was some other way to find out what was happening other than waiting._ ' he thought before Shen suddenly came over to him.

"Commander, I have a contact heading towards us from the direction of the energy signal." Shen said, making Rodimus pick up his rifle and get ready. He looked at both Smokescreen and Grunt and they had done the same, the latter actually looked happy that something was finally happening.

"Talk to me Shen, what do you see?"

The Turian then looked through the scope of his sniper rifle at the vehicle which was still at least over a kilometre away.

"This one has no sign of damage from our fire fight earlier, so I would say that this is the Predacons approaching." Shen replied.

"Damn, that means Orion and the others failed. I hope they are okay?" Smokescreen interjected, earning a sigh from the Commander.

"Whatever has happened, we will deal with it later. But at this moment the enemy is approaching and we have to focus on stopping them." he said back, earning nods from the others at their respective positions.

"How long until they get here Shen?" he then added.

"At the speed they are moving, I would say just over five minutes." the Turian replied.

"Okay then. Smokescreen, time to arm the Claymores that we have positioned between us and the MAKO and everyone, time for final-checks on your weapons. No matter what, the Predacons can not leave here alive….understood?" Rodimus said with a commanding tone,

"Understood." the others replied in unison as they readied themselves for the approaching enemies, with Smokescreen using his holo-tool to activate the mines while Grunt ran through his weapons checks one last time and Shen himself had gone back to his sniping spot. The Commander though just got into a kneeling position, with his head only just above the top of the long grass and aimed his rifle at the MAKO that was still just a small shiny dot at the edge of his vision.

' _This is it._ ' he thought before suddenly a space bridge vortex suddenly opened up nearby and the three giant Predacon beasts burst out of it and ascended up into the sky.

"What the?" Smokescreen exclaimed as the Autobots looked up at the Dragons.

"They are flying towards the signal's location." Grunt said with an urgent tone in his voice.

"Galvatron must have called them in to help against Orion and the others, so they are still alive." Smokescreen said back with a relieved tone.

"Well not for much longer, Rodimus why did you have to send Onyx to check the surrounding area. We could certainly use him right now, don't you think?" the Krogan spat back, but the Commander just remained calm.

"Watch it Grunt, remember who's in charge here…. and I have it covered." he added before a familiar roar echoed through the sky, one that made the flying Predacon beasts suddenly slow their speed as they looked around. Then suddenly Onyx in beast mode burst out of the clouds and flew directly at the enemy dragons, firing three fireballs at them, making Predaking dive low and both Skystalker and Grimwing break left and right respectively.

"That's more like it." Grunt exclaimed happily as Rodimus noticed the MAKO very nearly upon them.

"Okay guys, let's do this." he said as they got into kneeling positions and aimed their weapons at the armoured vehicle that was speeding toward them.

Meanwhile Onyx found himself in the middle of the three Predacons as he beared his claws and grappled the back of Predaking, earning a roar of pain from the beast as it tried to shake the Maximal off. Grimwing and Skystalker had both turned back around and had begun flying in formation behind their Alpha, waiting for their enemy to be shaken loose. But Onyx kept latched on, digging his claws into the Predacon's back while biting at the orange wings, causing Predaking to lose control and fall out of the sky.

But just moments before the orange and black beast hit the ground, the Maximal let go and pulled up. Letting his hated rival crash land, bringing up mud and dust as it slid across the ground to a stop. Onyx then turned his attention to the others who began to circle him, his blue optics narrowing as he let out a low growl. Grimwing then swooped in with his teeth and claws beared, but the Maximal rolled to his left and dodged the beast. But he failed to see Skystalker who breathed his ice breath up on the beast's wings freezing them up, making Onyx drop like a rock out of the sky.

As he fell, the black dragon transformed back into his Cybetronian mode, freeing his wings of the ice and continued to descend as both Predacons continued to circle as if happy to watch their enemy fall to his death. But Grimwing was a little too curious and had drifted nearer than he had realised, letting Onyx reach and grab at the green beast's leg. Grimwing let out a roar as the Maximal got a firm grip of the beast's leg as it began to roll around and shake him off. Onyx climbed up the Predacon's leg and got onto the green dragon's back before equipping his wrist blade and stabbing it into it's back, earning a painful roar from Grimwing as he dropped out of the sky.

Onyx then let go and re-transformed back into his black Dragon mode as the Predacon hit the ground, joining Predaking who was just starting to recover. The Maximal then looked around for the blue and white beast that remained, but there was no sign of him, earning a confusing whine from the beast. But all of a sudden Skystalker, copying it's enemy's earlier tactic…burst out of the clouds and tackled Onyx before plowing the larger beast into the ground alongside both Predaking and Grimwing, who had got back to their feet and growled at their enemy.

As that battle was happening, the MAKO was now within the perimeter of the beach-head and set off the first of the claymores, rattling the vehicle and it's occupants.

"What in the pit!" Darksteel exclaimed as Lazerback kept his eyes on the road.

"The enemy is here too, and they…." the driver replied before another claymore went off on the other side, interrupting him while trying to keep the vehicle steady.

"Yes, keep focused on your task Lazerback and get us to that vortex." Galvatron finished saying for his luitenant while pointing at the green portal just ahead of them. But suddenly the MAKO drove over another of the explosives, setting it off and throwing the vehicle into a roll as the Autobots watched from their hiding spots. The MAKO rolled several times, throwing it's occupants around like rag dolls inside before finally coming to a stop upside down at the other side of the area. Galvatron found himself lying on his face and feeling sore as he picked himself up and noticed that he was bleeding from a cut on his forehead, so he wiped the excess blood away before looking over to his comrades.

"Lazerback, Darksteel…are you alright?" he asked as he shook both Predacons, but they were out cold and could not answer. So the Predacon activated his holo-tool and took a reading, sighing in relief a moment later.

"Do not worry my brothers, I will deal with whoever is out there." the Predacon leader vowed as he picked up the Chaos Edge and moved hobbled over to the exit, hitting the access panel and opening the MAKO up to the outside. He then climbed out, and looked at the vortex which was several feet away and still open, so he lifted his hand to his com-link and was about to activate it.

"Freeze!" a voice commanded, suddenly making the Predacon leader stop and look in the direction that the voice had come from. What he saw was a Krogan and two Autobots standing before him, their weapons aimed directly at him. Galvatron smiled as he stood against the hull of the MAKO and looked quite casual despite the situation, turning his attention to each of the enemies before him until his eyes locked in on the blonde Bot in gold and red armour.

"Commander Rodimus I presume, that was a nice trick you did there, mining the area." he said while taking notice of where each Autobot was standing, as Rodimus walked a step closer towards him.

"So you have heard of me, I'm flattered."

"I read your profile….second Lieutenant to Jackson Prime, a fine soldier, etcetera, etcertera, that still won't save you." Galvatron replied with a confident tone, which made both Grunt and Smokescreen narrow their eyes at him with disgusted stares.

"You know something we don't?" the latter asked with an unconvinced tone.

"I know I am going to walk away from this…..and your all going to die." the Predacon said back with an evil smile, one that made Grunt's blood boil.

"Lets just kill him and get it over with." the Krogan spat back, but Rodimus held his hand up at his companion.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." Smokescreen added, ,making Galvatron's smile widen which earned a confused look from the Autobot Commander.

"What's so funny?"

"You speak of killing me like it is a certainty, but you will not…" the Predacon replied with another chuckle, which this time stretched Rodimus's patience as he took a step forward and aiming his rifle at Galvatron's head.

"You sure about that, ending your life will throw the Predacons into disarray and end whatever threat they are to the Federation." the Commander said back, and yet the Predacon leader kept smiling.

"Then do it, what are you waiting for?"

Both Grunt and Smokescreen looked on as their Commander just stood there with his gun aimed right at the center of Galvatron's forehead, the Predacon leader chuckling away as if nothing was even out of place.

"You will not kill me, for I have 'destiny' and it does not end on this planet." he said back, making everyone there look at him with confused expressions.

"I will leave this planet as I arrived, but you will be decorating it's landscape with your cold corpses before I do so." the Predacon said back with absolute certainty in his voice, earning an eye roll from both Smokescreen and Grunt.

"I've had enough of this 'destiny's child', lets kill him." the former said back, earning a nod from Rodimus who tightened his grip on the trigger of his rifle.

"Goodbye Galvatron, you will not hurt anyone else." the Commander began to say before noticing the Predacon's eyes change from red to purple.

"And still you talk instead of taking action, pathetic!" he spat before a purple energy emanated from him and shot out in all directions, knocking Rodimus and his comrades to the floor while Galvatron smiled.

"You will all fall at my feet…" he replied as Rodimus as got back to his feet and activated his holo-blade.

"Not today." he said back before lunging at the Predacon, who deflected his attack with the Chaos Edge. He then elbowed the Autobot Commander with his free hand, before spinning around and knocking the Bot to the floor with another elbow to the back.

"Rodimus!" Smokescreen shouted as he then charged into the fight, managing to punch Galvatron in the face as he looked back. But this barely bothered the Con who then swiped his glowing red blade at the Bot, which hit him directly on the chest and catapulted Smokescreen across the long grass.

"Is this your bes…." Galvatron started to jibe before being tackled from behind by Grunt, who knocked the Predacon to the floor and began pummelling his face with his fists.

"Let me show you how we do things on Tuchanka." the Krogan spat before the Con grabbed his face and threw him off.

"I'm not impressed." he said back as Rodimus came into the fight again and slashed the Con's back, earning a grimace from Galvatron who spun round and swiped with his blade. But the Commander saw it coming and ducked under the attack, he then countered but the Predacon leader was quick and brough the Chaos Edge up just in time to block it, leaving the two in a stalemate as their blades clashed.

"Is this the best you've got to give me, Jackson Prime did a better job then you." Galvatron said back with a smile, which made Rodimus push harder and break the deadlock. But this then left him open and the Predacon was quicker as he kicked the Autobot in the chest, sending him back to the ground.

Galvatron then turned round to see Smokescreen and Grunt readying themselves for another attack, so he beckoned them towards him.

"Come on." he said with a smile, earning narrowed stares from the pair.

"Together…..now." Grunt shouted as he and Smokescreen charged at the Predacon Leader, who instead swiped the Chaos Edge around before unleashing a red energy wave which hit the pair and carried them several feet before they hit the ground hard.

"Impressive." Galvatron then said as he looked at the blade in his hands before suddenly as if by a six sense, he then dodged another attack by Rodimus from behind. The Autobot then swung his holo-blade again, though the Predacon blocked the attack with his Chaos Edge and grabbed the Commander by the chest-plate of his armour. Galvatron then yanked the Bot close enough to head butt him, disorientating Rodimus as he began to stagger back. But the Predacon still had the Elite Spectre by his armour and kicked him square in the chest, sending the Commander onto the floor again.

Rodimus tried to regain some control as the disorientation from the head-butt started to fade and slowly got back to his feet, but he then fell back to his knees and panted heavily. Galvatron stood triumphant over the Autobot Commander, a confident smile appearing on his face as he clenched the hilt of the Chaos Edge tightly.

"You have a lot of fight in you Rodimus, but you are no Prime." the Predacon Leader said back, making the Bot look up at his enemy. His eyes narrowed as his spark began to burn with anger, gritting his teeth as he fought through the pain he was feeling through out his body at this moment.

"I may not be a Prime, but I will never give in to the likes of you!" he spat back before lunging at the Predacon with his holo-blade, which was blocked yet again by Galvatron. But Rodimus then swung his free hand, just as another holo-blade appeared around it and it caught the Predacon on his chest and knocked him back. The Con looked down at his armour and saw the mark left by Rodimus's attack, which ran down the length of his chest-plate.

But then he was made to defend again as the Autobot attacked and made Galvatron bring up his blade, clashing them together again and again as the Bot continued the offensive. And for a long moment the two Cybertronians continued back and forth, clashing their blades constantly until the Predacon Leader finally had enough and clashed the Chaos Edge against Rodimus's holo-blade one last time.

"This ends now!" he said before as the blade glowed bright red and smashed through the holo-blade as if it wasn't there, before slicing through the Commander's chest-plate. The Autobot cried out in pain as blood gushed out of the open wound, making him fall to his knees and hold his hands against the injury as Galvatron stood over him yet again.

"I told you that you would not prevail today Rodimus, now prepare to join the All-Spark!" he said while lifting the Chaos Edge over his head in preparation of delivering the killing stroke.

"No!" a voice suddenly shouted, stopping the Predacon in his tracks as he looked in the direction it had come from. What he saw made his eyes widen as the second MAKO was now there, with a blue haired Bot staring back in angry disbelief as others climbed out behind him.

"Yet more Autobots for me to humiliate." Galvatron stated with a bemused tone before kicking Rodimus onto his back, making Orion stare daggers back at the Predacon leader for what he had down to his mentor and friend.

"What do we do?" Liara asked as both Quickstrike and Nightracer looked over to the XO, who in turn unsheathed the Star-Saber from his back.

"We stop him now!" he spat before charging towards the Predacon with the blade behind him, leaving the others where they were.

"Get to Rodimus, we will help Orion." Nightracer said back to the Asari as she and the blonde Bot ran after their friend, who had already caught up to the smiling Galvatron who readied himself for more combat.

Orion swung the saber at the Predacon Leader, who managed to bring his own blade up to block it. This caused both blades at the moment of impact to let off a mixture of blue and red energy that surprised both Bot and Con.

"Interesting blade you have there." the latter said with a curious tone as their swords remained locked together, but Orion just stared back with pure anger as he gritted his teeth.

"I'll introduce you… as I impale your spark with it." the blue haired Bot roared as he put all his strength into breaking the deadlock except the Predacon Lord instead pulled away and released the Bot, leaving him open as Galvatron punched him in the chest with his free hand before sweeping him off his feet.

"You look familiar to me somehow…" he then said while looking down at Orion, but before he could enquire he was again under attack as both Quickstrike and Nightracer took him on together. Both tried to attack high with a kick, the other low with a punch. But their adversary was experienced enough to read their attacks, so he dodged the kick and blocked the punch and made sure to grab hold of the Femme's arm while doing so.

"Let me give you a hand." Galvatron said back before pulling Nightracer around and throwing her into Quickstrike who had just turned around, sending them sprawling onto the floor.

"Seriously, is this all you Autobots have?"

As this was going on, Liara managed to make it round to Rodimus who was sprawled on the floor with his hands on his open wound, trying to keep pressure on it. But he had lost a lot of blood and was slowly losing consciousness, just as the Asari knelt down beside him and pulled some Medi-gel from her utility belt.

"Stay with me Rodimus." she said while tending to his deep wound, in fact she was so caught up in helping the Commander that she had failed to notice that both Lazerback and Darksteel had come too and climbed out of the crashed MAKO. The latter had spotted the blue female with her back turned to them, and so equipped his pistol before aiming it at her head. But just a second before he could pull the trigger, a gunshot was heard and the back of his head exploded outwards as a bullet went straight through it. Having heard the gunshot, Liara looked around to see the Predacon fall to the ground dead, while Lazerback dived behind the cover of the MAKO. The Asari looked back to her front and saw Shen standing up on the higher ground.

' _I have your back.'_ he thought while she continued treating Rodimus's wound, as he meanwhile looked over to see Orion attacking the Galvatron again.

"Why do you look familiar to me?" Galvatron asked between Orion's swings of his saber, which the Predacon responded by deflecting each and every one before pushing the Bot back, so he could get the chance to look him up and down.

"Who are you?" he spat in a confused tone, to which Orion gripped the hilt of his blade tighter and stared the Con directly in the eyes.

"My name is Orion Darby, and I will make you pay for what you have done to my parents."

Galvatron's eyes widened as it finally dawned on him, just as the younger Bot attacked again and clashed the Star-Saber with the Chaos Edge, sending blue and red sparks everyway as the blades connected.

"The son of a Prime, living in your Father's shadow. I can relate to that." the Predacon replied as the two continued to push their blades against the other until his strength broke through and he slashed the blue haired Bot's arm, making him drop the Star-Saber to the floor leaving him open. And Galvatron took advantage by following through as he flipped the hilt of his blade around, giving Orion hard hit in the stomach with it and then knocking him to the floor with a back hand to the face.

"You are out of your depth…Boy, I can see it clearly all over you." the Predacon Leader added as he looked down at the beaten Darby, who had blood running down the lower half of his face from his nose. He looked around to see Nightracer and Quickstrike still down on the ground, as was Smokescreen and Grunt before looking back up at Galvatron, who's shadow was being cast over him.

"You are no match for me, just as your Father was not." the Con said before smiling as if something had come to his mind.

"That is why he and that wretched Femme of his did not want the Normandy destroyed, because you were on board. Well, they believe you are dead….so who am I to deny them that reality." he then said before raising the Chaos Edge above his head, readying to bring the blade down upon Orion who just kept his eyes on the enemy before, unafraid of what was about to happen as his growing anger kept his focus.

But then suddenly a gunshot sounded and hit the blade, earning Galvatron's attention as he looked in the direction it came from. His eyes widened a little as a curious expression appeared on his face as he saw a Turian slowly moving toward him, his sniper rifle aimed at the Con's head.

"Pitiful." he spat, before Shen fired again. And the Predacon deflected it with his blade, so the Sniper fired off several more shots and each and every time, Galvatron deflected them before only a few feet stood between them.

"Is that it, is that all you have?" he said back with a hint of annoyance in his voice, which earned a slight smile from the Turian.

"Pretty much…yeah."

"You must know you don't stand a chance against me Turian." Galvatron replied, to which Shen gave him a knowing look.

"Oh I wasn't trying to kill you….just 'distract' you." he replied, the Predacon's eyes then widened before he turned around to see a fist hit his face hard. The Con stumbled backwards before feeling another punch hit him in the stomach and then again in the face. He managed to open his eyes to see a resurgent Orion attack again with a kick that hit the Con in the stomach, which made him bend over and the blue haired Bot replied by connecting an uppercut with his face, sending Galvatron back first to the floor.

The other Autobots just started to get back to their feet as they saw Orion standing over the Predacon Leader, who spat some blood onto the floor before looking up at the Bot who upholstered his pistol and aimed it a the Con's head.

"You've lost." the blue haired Bot said, earning a smile from Galvatron who clenched his hands into fists which began to glow with purple energy.

"You underestimate me…Boy, just like your Father. Now to pay the price!" the Predacon Leader then spat as he slammed his fists into the ground, sending out an energy wave which knocked Orion's balance and made him drop his weapon. Galvatron then launched into a barrage of punches that pummelled the younger Bot relentlessly, until he was completely dazed and bloodied. The Predacon then grabbed Orion's throat and lifted him off the ground, before looking into his eyes.

"And your are wrong, it is you that have lost…everything." he said, before hitting the Spectre in the chest, cracking his chest-plate before then throwing him to the ground hard. The Predacon Leader then stretched out his hand to where the Chaos Edge lied and suddenly the sword shot from the ground and back into his possession, tightening his grip on it's hilt and making it's blade glow red.

"Orion!" Liara then shouted in a frantic and scared tone, making Galvatron look round to see her beside the fallen Rodimus with a horrified expression on her face.

"Oh, I will deal with you later Asari," he said back, before noticing that he was surrounded. Quickstrike, Grunt, Nightracer and Smokescreen surrounded him with their weapons ready.

"Your not going anywhere." the blonde Bot replied, making the Predacon shake his head and sigh in return.

"You Autobots never learn." he said before Smokescreen was suddenly shot in the back, making him cry out in pain as he fell to the ground. The others quickly turned and saw Lazerback with his weapon ready as he took cover from behind the damaged MAKO.

"Smokescreen!" Grunt shouted, before aiming his weapon at the Predacon responsible. Galvatron though smirked as everyone's attention had been drawn away from him, so he then stabbed the Chaos Edge into the ground and focused his thoughts into it.

"What's he doin….." Nightracer managed to say as she glanced back at the Con, before the ground around him suddenly exploded in a bright purple light which knocked all the Autobots to the ground.

"My Lord." Lazerback said as he walked over to his Master, ignoring the Autobots who were on the ground in pain at that moment.

"Lazerback, where were you?" the Predacon Leader replied as he sheathed the Chaos Edge onto his back.

"I managed to contact the Nemesis through the Space-bridge while you were dealing with the Autobots, they are ready to send more Terracons if needed." his lieutenant said back, making Galvatron shake his head in return.

"That will not be necessary, we are done here. Have a shuttle sent back for Vertabreak and Blight. And recall our Beasts, we'll leave the moment everyone is back on board."

"Yes my Lord." Lazerback nodded back, before his Master noticed someone was missing.

"Where is Darksteel?"

"He is dead, he was killed by the Autobots."

"I see…" Galvatron replied before turning away, facing the ground-bridge portal.

"You have your orders." he said before leaving the Predacon there, who nodded before tapping his com-link as he followed. The pair then entered the vortex, leaving the Autobots there where they lay.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile Onyx Primal found himself in a similar position as he was pinned to the ground by both Grimwing and Skystalker, the two Dragons had their claws dug into his chest as the lay on his back in beast mode. Both were giving off deep growls as they bared the teeth at him and prepared to strike, when suddenly a massive roar stopped both as Predaking joined them and looked down at the Maximal.

It's yellow optics narrowed as it then opened it's mouth and charged it's fire-breath, forcing Onyx to break free from the other Predacons hold. But Grimwing and Skystalker had too good a hold on him, so all he could do was watch as his hated rival readied himself to snuff out the Maximal's spark. But just as Predaking was ready to unleash a fire-blast upon the defenceless Onyx, suddenly all three Beasts looked away in the same direction and whined.

' _What in the Allspark?_ ' he thought as Predaking stretched out his orange wings and lifted himself off the ground, quickly followed by Skystalker and Grimwing who then flew away and left Onyx. The Maximal quickly rolled on to his feet and took to the sky to chase them down before noticing that they were heading for the ground-bridge vortex.

Liara came too to find herself looking up at the cloudy sky, before realising that she had been knocked out by some kind of energy of Galvatron's making.

' _Orion!_ ' she thought before quickly got up and looked around, seeing the rest of her friends who were just coming round themselves. But her eyes came to stop as she saw a blue haired Bot lying several feet away from her, and she suddenly felt her heart beating very fast and heavy as numerous thoughts went through her mind. But the Asari pushed them aside and ran over to her friend, falling to her knees as she noticed the bruised and bloodied young man lying before her.

"Orion?" she said softly while cupping the left cheek of his face with her hand, hoping that her touch would wake him. But his eyes remained closed, which made Liara feel something inside herself that she had not felt since she had been back on Cybertron, the last time she saw Shockblast.

"No, don't do this to me Orion, please?" she said back as she stroked his cheek with her thumb, before the Bot finally opened his eyes to her relief.

"….Liara.." he replied, earning a sigh from the Asari,

"You had me worried." she said back as the blue haired Bot attempted to sit up, only succeeding when Liara helped him.

"Where's Galvatron?" he asked as he looked around, earniing a confused expression from her.

"He and that other one are gone." Quickstrike suddenly said, gaining their attention as they looked over to see him walking over. The young Darby also notice Grunt helping with Smokescreen and Nightracer limping over to the unconscious Rodimus, a heavy feeling made Orion's spark dim within his chest as it dawned on him what this all meant.

"We failed." he said back with a heavy tone to his voice, making his cousin shake his head in return.

"Not yet we haven't, their ground bridge is still active. Lets go through and finish this." he said, trying to sound enthusiastic but coming off as just desperate.

"We are in no condition for that, neither do we know what forces Galvatron has on the other side. It would be suicide to attempt that." Liara replied, gaining a nod from Orion.

"Liara's right…leave it and focus on our people." he said while looking over to both Rodimus and Smokescreen.

"What's their condition?" Orion said as his eyes fell upon his mentor, and his spark ached for young Darby knew he had failed him.

"I have stabilized the Commander as well as I can, but he has lost a lot of blood. We need to get him back to the ship." Liara replied.

"And the same goes for Smokescreen, he needs immediate medical attention." Grunt shouted over with an angry undertone to his voice, before reusing the Medi-gel in his hands on his injured friend.

"Well we need to work fas…." Orion began to say before his and everyone's attention was caught by the Ground-bridge vortex suddenly expanding.

"What the hell?" Quickstrike said in return with a confused expression before a roar sounded out behind him, making the Bot turn round just in time for him and the others to see the three Predacon beasts fly low over them and into the vortex which then closed behind them, leaving the group alone on the planet as Onyx Primal landed and transformed near them.

"Is everyone alright?" He asked, his blue optics widening as he saw the condition the group was in.

"That remains to be seen." Grunt replied when Orion's com-link suddenly activated.

"Normandy to Orion, come in please?" Jetstorm said, making the Bot put his hand to his ear and tap the device and let the others hear it.

"Orion here."

"What's the situation down there?" the pilot replied.

"The Predacons…defeated us." the blue haired Bot replied, earning a sigh of regret from the other end of the link.

"..I see, I guess that is why the Nemesis has just used a space-bridge to leave the system, and the other Predacon ship jumped away…after picking up a shuttle from the planet."

"Wait…how are you suddenly able to contact us, we have been unable to do so ourselves?" the Spectre asked with a curious tone, while the others listened with equally curious expressions.

"It was the same on our side too, but just now whatever had been blocking our com-signals has faded to nothing." Jetstorm replied.

"Must have been that sword that Galvatron had taken." Liara said back, earning an aggravated expression from Grunt.

"Could we just get back to the ship already." he spat while remaining at Smokescreen's side.

"Right.." Orion replied as he looked back at their injured friends.

"Jetstorm, open up a ground-bridge for us and have Red-Alert ready with a medical team, we have injured."

"Aye, Aye." the pilot said back before another green vortex appeared near them, which made Grunt pick up his friend and carry him into the swirling portal, Shen and Quickstrike together picked up Rodimus and did the same as Orion watched with Liara helping him and Nightracer joining his other side.

"Once we are on board, take us out of the system immediately." Orion then said before ending the transmission and looking over to the two women with him.

"Lets get moving, we've lost too much time already." he then said, earning nods from the pair as they then helped him walk through the portal which then closed behind them. The Normandy then left orbit of Scissio and immediately jumped away, leaving the planet to float there in the void of space. But if the ship had stayed for a moment longer they would have noticed an almost transparent energy wave suddenly expand outwards from the planet before slowly dissipating into the blackness nothing like it had never happened.

 


	33. Chapter 33

Galvatron stood before the Galaxy map at his station on the Nemesis's bridge, his eyes focusing on the holo-image of the galaxy as he tried to pin point the planet that he had felt drawn too in his vision. In fact the Predacon Leader's attention was so absorbed by his task, he did not notice both Rip-Claw and Lazerback entering the room and walk up to him over the catwalk.

"Lord Galvatron..." the Femme called though he simply ignored her and continued his search, making both Rip-Claw and Lazerback to look at each other, with the Con shrugging his shoulders in return.

"My Lord, if we may have a moment of your time." Lazerback then said as the pair stopped directly behind the Predacon Leader, making him sigh before turning to them.

"Will this take long, I am in the middle of something you all should know is extremely important."

"Lord Galvatron, we already have a number of our Terracons searching through the navigational charts for the star...that you saw in your 'vision'. There is no need for you to do the same." Rip-Claw said back, earning a supportive expression from her comrade who then looked at his Master.

"Because we have a problem, one that requires your attention my Lord." Lazerback added, earning what looked like a curious expression from Galvatron.

"Well spit it out then."

"Very well...while we were occupied on Scissio, the other ships you sent out to search the galaxy have met heavy resistance from Autobot forces that intercepted them at each location." the Con replied, which made the Predacon Leader look back in confusion.

"That's impossible, how would the Autobots know where to look?"

"Master if I may make a suggestion?" Rip-Claw then said, earning Galvatron's attention though his eyes narrowed at her and made the Femme feel uncomfortable.

"Go on." was all he said.

"Taking into account how the Autobots know exactly where our ships are to attack them, it would be logical to assume that they may have access to our communication channels."

"That would make sense considering the attacks our ships have suffered in such a short time." Lazerback added, earning a thoughtful expression from Galvatron.

"We can't take the risk, have the fleet switch to new com-channels...ones that we don't currently have listed as available."

"I'll get right on it." the Femme replied before walking away, leaving Galvatron alone with Lazerback who noticed his Master glancing back to the galaxy map.

"Lord Galvatron, your going to continue with your search through the star maps...aren't you?" he asked with a knowing look.

"Yes, it is too important to leave in the hands of our Terracons. I hope you don't disapprove?" the Predacon Leader replied with an inquisitive stare, making the Lieutenant shake his head in response.

"No of course not my Lord, if that is your wish then I will see to it that you are not disturbed."

"I would appreciate that, though I hear a 'but' coming along." Galvatron said back.

"...But..." Lazerback began to say, feeling his Spark-beat speed up as he suddenly felt like he was walking a minefield with his next few words.

"...are you sure that you really experienced a 'vision' my Lord, telling the crew let alone the fleet, would raise questions in their minds."

Galvatron looked away as he thought on his lieutenant's words, then looked back as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Do you share the same view as the others on this?"

"No Lord Galvatron, I am merely pointing out what the crew's reaction is." the Predacon said back as he felt sweat slowly building up on his face, which Galvatron noticed.

"All you and the others need to know that when we find the planet in question, we will have the means to end our conflict with the Autobots finally and put the entire galaxy in our control." he then said while holding his hands behind his back.

"Do I have your support?"

"Yes my Lord, and I am sure that everyone else in our fleet feels the same." Lazerback replied, gaining a nod from the Predacon Leader.

"Very well, you are dismissed." he said back before turning back to the galaxy map, with the lieutenant walking away in return. It was then that Galvatron felt the presence of his master around him as he looked at the image of the star cluster.

" **You should watch your back my Herald.** " Unicron suddenly spoke into his mind, making the Con shake his head.

"Out of all of my Lieutenants, only one…possibly two who would have moved against me. One of them is now dead….and the other is working with me, I have nothing to fear from the others Master." Galvatron replied softly, so that none of the Terracons below would hear him.

" **Because they 'fear' you Galvatron?** "

"Yes, fear after all is just another means of control….in the hands of the right person. And if that is required to help me achieve 'our' goals, then so be it." the Predacon Leader said back, feeling the purple optics of the Chaos Bringer bearing down on him.

" **Very well, I will leave you to continue your search….unless you may prefer a gentle nudge in the right direction?** "

"Do you know where Aeonia is located?.." Galvatron asked with a curious expression, too which there was no answer which heightened his curiosity even more.

"…Because I thought you said you could not remember such details, like with the Chaos Edge?"

" **You must come to understand Galvatron, that I am an Aeon and have a time-line that goes back almost to the beginning of creation itself. But I am not whole, since your spark contains the last slither of my being, and my memory is in a similar state. So much of my experiences from before and after my ascension are still scattered in the ocean of time, and are still outside of my reach.**   **But when you held the Chaos Edge….my sword in your hands and witnessed that particular memory of mine, I did manage to recover a few more. Some that answered questions that I have, and some that have raised more.** " Unicron replied with a cryptic tone, earning a hint of impatience within the Predacon's Spark.

"So, is there anything you can tell me Master? Can you point me in the right direction?" he asked with a tone that tried to hide his growing impatience, though Galvatron doubted whether he could do such a thing with the Aeon sharing his very spark.

" **Using the words that exist in your mind, look in the 'Attican Traverse'. You should find the original home of my species there…..though it's name will be something quiet different from what I knew it to be.** " the Chaos Bringer replied before fading away, leaving the Predacon Leader alone with his thoughts again as he zoomed the galaxy map onto that region and continued his search.

Meanwhile in his laboratory, Shockwave was looking through the files that his predecessor Shockblast had been cataloguing. This was something that the Decepticon had been in the middle of when Six-Shot had interrupted him, and Shockwave was eager to get through this without any more interruptions. But he as he scrolled through the files, his one remaining eye taking in the data scrolling down the screen with photographic accuracy. The Con still found his attention waning as he looked over to the body lying on the berth to his right with a grey sheet covering it, since this was the body of Six-Shot that Galvatron had yet to deal with before leaving for Scissio.

' _It is not logical for my Liege to leave this problem for too long, surely one of more of the other Predacons will question his absence before long._ ' he thought as he shook his head and looked back at the holo-screen in front of him. Several minutes passed as he continued with his work before his attention was once again taken as the lab's doors opened, making the Decepticon turn around to see a Terracon enter with a mobile berth which was carrying someone. From where Shockwave was standing, he could not make out who the individual was on the berth except for the fact that it was a Femme. So he walked over to the berth and the Terracon who moved it towards the room's center, before being stopped by the Decepticon.

"Commander Shockblast!" the soldier said, earning a surprised expression from Shockwave.

' _I find it illogical to assume that I will ever fully become used to being called by that name._ ' he thought while looking back at his subordinate.

"Why did you disturb my work?" he asked, quickly giving the Terracon a cold stare.

"I was commanded by Lord Galvatron to deliver this traitor to your laboratory." the minion replied, which made Shockwave look down at the unconscious Femme. He could see by examining her body that she had quite extensive injuries, which had not yet been fully healed.

"Why is she a traitor?" the Decepticon asked, which made the soldier look back with a disbelieving expression.

"You have not heard Commander?"

"No, please explain?" Shockwave asked, ignoring the Terracon's stare as he activated his holo-tool and took a more thorough scan of the Predacon Femme.

"This wretch betrayed us…her family to the Autobots, at first helping one escape our clutches and then assisting the rest of the 'scrap' to sabotage one of our operations." the minion said, while the Decepticon continued to scan.

"I see….." he replied before his only remaining eye looked down at her face and widened, as the Decepticon found he recognised her despite the Femme being in a Pretender body.

"Ser-Ket?" he said, earning a nod from the Terracon.

"Yes, that is the traitor's name….." he began to say before Shockwave glared at him, making the minion nervous.

"Get out now!" the Decepticon spat, earning a nod from the soldier as he started to back slowly towards the door.

"…sir…yes..sir." he mumbled before leaving the room, though Shockwave waited for the door to close before returning his attention to the unconscious Femme before him.

"It has been a long time Ser-Ket." he said before walking to the nearby table and picking up some Medi-gel.

' _Or should I start calling you by your 'real name'._ ' he thought before heading back to the Predacon and injecting her with the medicine.

"This should help you recover…." Shockwave started to say as he accessed memories of her from after 'the Fall'.

'… _since you are still my favourite creation._ ' he thought before his com-link activated and the voice of Galvatron could be heard.

"Shockwave, I am now in the middle of an important task. But I think we should discuss how to resolve our Six-Shot issue."

"You have my attention my Liege, what did you have in mind?" the Decepticon replied as he turned from the unconscious Femme and walked back to his terminal.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

The stars shone brightly in the night sky above Illium as Donovan Hock stood on his balcony holding a half empty glass of whisky as he leaned on the railing, his face unshaven, rough and his demeanour was that of a man who all but had given up. For it had been well over a week since the party that was gate-crashed by not one but two groups, with one of them escaping with his favourite Asari 'pet' who he had shelled out a good amount of credits for as well. But that was just the beginning of the downfall, because since that debacle Hock's entire business had fallen apart around him.

' _Where did it all go wrong?_ ' he thought as he looked out at the city's skyline before gulping down the remainder of the whisky in his glass, before sighing and placing the empty glass on the rail and letting his thoughts run wild in his mind.

' _I used to run one of the most successful weapons trading_ _enterprises in the_ _galaxy and now my name means nothing, Illium's government seized my assets and shut_ _down my operation. I still cannot figure out how they_ _were able to do that_ _._ '

Hock was so caught up in his own thoughts, he did not even notice the man approaching him from behind.

"Donavon Hock?"

"And who wants to know?" Hock replied as he turned around to see who had just interrupted his thoughts, and looked at the new arrival with a confused expression.

"Who are you?" he asked as he found himself looking at a Caucasian man in his early fifties with white hair that was combed back, as well as a short trimmed beard. He was wearing black and green armour which had two spikes on each shoulder guard, and also both armoured boots. Hock then noticed what looked like an emblem which was heavily faded and scratched, but there was no mistake that it was a Decepticon emblem and it then clicked who this man was.

"..your Lockdown, a former Decepticon Assassin." he said, earning a nod from the former-Con.

"That is correct, so you have heard of me?"

"Of course, with my line of work I have heard of and met many individuals such as yourself. But why are you here? If it is for work then I must apologise, for I am unable to offer anything…but I guess you can see that." Hock replied, his voice tinged with regret and self loathing. But Lockdown just stared back blankly before taking a step towards the broken arms dealer.

"I am not here to find work, more so I am here to offer you some." he replied, earning a confused expression from Hock.

"I do not understand?"

"In my time since the end of the Autobot/Decepticon civil War, I have worked for many such as yourself as well as men who do not ever wish to be identified. But never in that time was I ever tempted to join any of them permanently, that is until I met my current 'benefactor'." Lockdown said back before taking a metal sphere out from one of the pouches on his utility belt, which the former arms dealer had noticed and looked at.

"And who is this benefactor, do I know them?" he asked while looking back to the former Decepticon, who merely smiled and let go of the sphere which floated between them both.

"How about I just introduce you…and if I may give you a piece of advice, take what my benefactor has to offer because I doubt that there will be another chance in your lifetime." he said in a rather cryptic way, earning a curious look from Hock who looked down at the sphere which then activated and glowed with blue light. Suddenly a holographic projection appeared which revealed silhouette of whoever Lockdown's benefactor, but since it gave no hint of who exactly it was then it might as well have been their shadow.

" _ **Donavon Hock, I hope my associate has not caught you at a bad time?**_ " the silhouette spoke, though the voice was heavily disguised and filtered as to not give away their identity.

"Not at all, I was just…" Hock started to say back before the unknown person cut him off.

"… _ **hoping to drink yourself into oblivion so that your problems just disappear, you must know that will never happen.**_ "

"Look, I am not looking for anyone's approval or pity for what I am doing. Just who the hell are you!" Donavon spat back in anger at the hologram.

" _ **I am someone who specialises in obtaining information from behind the 'shadows', I believe that is an adequate description of who I am.**_ "

Hock's eyes widened as it dawned on him who he was dealing with right at this moment.

"You're the 'Shadow Broker' aren't you? But there is no proof you even exist,"

" _ **That is correct, you must be wondering why I am speaking to you now?**_ " the hologram replied.

"Lockdown has told me you have an offer to make?" Hock said back, not even attempting to hide his curiosity at that moment.

" _ **Indeed I do, you see my organisation is moving into an expansion phase at this moment of time. And with the Federation and it's Autobots more focused on their conflict with the Predacons, there is no better time.**_ " the Shadow Broker's image replied, making Hock shake his head in return.

"I do not see what this has to do with me.."

" _ **I wish to add you to my resources since yours is a skill set I have been looking for, for some time. If you agree to my offer, then I will come to you first when I need weapons purchasing. You will receive a one hundred percent pay rise for your services, as well as all other bonuses that come with working for me.**_ "

"I see, well that is a good deal." Hock replied with a thoughtful expression as he looked away.

" _ **Yes it is, plus I will throw in an incentive. Just to show that I mean business.**_ " the Shadow Broker replied, regaining the Human's attention.

"What incentive would that be?"

" _ **Well I know of the**_ _ **embarrassment**_ _ **that happened to you not so long ago with the Autobots, they managed to**_ _ **infiltrate**_ _ **your home and liberate one of your assets. I bet your colleagues and customers thought a lot less of you after that**_." the Shadow Broker replied, earning a nod from Hock.

"And you would be right." he said back as he looked at the ground in shame, the memories of the debacle playing back in his mind

" _ **Of course I am right, there has never been a moment when I have been wrong. So I bet you would like to pay those Autobots back for what they did to you.**_ " the hologram replied, which made Hock look back with narrowed eyes.

"I most certainly would like the opportunity."

" _ **So you accept my offer then?**_ " the Shadow Broker said back with a knowing tone, gaining a nod from the Human.

"Yes, I accept your offer."

" _ **Excellent, I am looking forward to having you work for me. Now go with Lockdown, he will fill you in on the details of your first assignment, good-bye.**_ " the Shadow Broker replied before the hologram disappeared, with the sphere flying back into Lockdown's hand.

"I knew you would make the right choice, now if you follow me." the former-Con replied, making Hock look at him with a curious expression.

"Where are we going?"

"To my ship of course, we already know where the Autobots responsible are located. We are going to attack and disable it, then a team of Mercs I have put together will board the Autobot ship.." Lockdown said before Hock cut him off.

"Why are you boarding the ship, why not just destroy it?"

"Because the Shadow Broker wants the Asari who is among them captured." the former-Con replied, earning a confused look from Hock.

"You mean 'my' Asari, I don't think so. I paid good money for her."

"And you will be paid that back in full with more than enough extra for your troubles Hock, this is not negotiable. Our Benefactor wants the Asari, and what he wants he gets. We will destroy the Autobot ship, so you will still witness their deaths." the Assassin said back with a commanding tone that put the arms dealer in his place.

"I guess that will have to do, considering I would never get another chance." he said back in defeatist tone, earning a smile from Lockdown.

"I am glad you can see reason, now let us be on our way."

"One thing though, who is going in this team of yours?" Hock then asked as the pair left the balcony and walked through his apartment to the elevator on its far side, gaining the former-Con's attention as he pressed the recall button next to the door.

"I have hired the same slavers who captured this Asari for you before since they have experience with her, as well as some individuals I prefer with me."

Hock smiled as the door then opened and they both entered the elevator.

"I see, well this will be interesting." he replied as the door closed and the apartment lights dimmed as it's sensors detected no one else in its vicinity, leaving it in complete darkness.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Rip-Claw walked amongst the stations on the Nemesis's bridge, watching the Terracons at work. Since her failure at Omicron, the Femme had done her best to ensure that Lord Galvatron would not be given any more reason to assume she was of no more us to him and the Predacon cause. Only to complete the tasks he had given her to the best of her ability and not create waves, so that he would not notice the Femme. Also she had not even given a singular thought to Ser-Ket either, for as far as Rip-Claw was concerned, the two were no longer sisters let alone Predacons.

The Femme walked in between the manned stations, only giving a passing interest in what the Terracons were doing as she collected her thoughts in herself.

"Yes!" Galvatron exclaimed in a wildly joyous tone from the catwalk above, gaining the attention of Rip-Claw and the soldiers around her with everyone looking up to see the Predacon Leader standing next to the galaxy map, which was right now showing a blue and white planet.

"My Lord?" the Femme asked with a curious tone, a few seconds past by before Galvatron turned round and looked down from the catwalk at her.

"I have found it!" he said back with a smile, making her even more curious.

"Found what my Lord?"

"Our 'final destination', the place where from where our ultimate Victory will begin."

' _This planet was the original home world of the Aeonians.'_ he thought before returning his attention to Rip-Claw.

"Find the others and make sure they all come here, I have an announcement to make." the Predacon Lord said back, gaining a nod from Rip-Claw before she tapped her com-link.

"Shockblast, Lazerback, Blight, Vertebreak, Scorponok, Six-Shot. Meet myself and Lord Galvatron on the bridge ASAP."

A few moments later and Galvatron stood at the galaxy map with most of his lieutenants standing behind him, except for the brothers.

"My Lord, how long do we have to wait for the others?" Vertebreak asked, earning similar looks from his comrades as they all looked to their leader for an answer.

"I am sure they will be…." he began to say in response, before the door at the far end of the bridge opened and revealed Shockblast to everyone.

' _Shockwave…_ ' Galvatron thought while the others looked more confused, as Lazerback took a step toward the late arrival.

"Shockblast, where is your brother?" he asked, earning a cold and emotionless stare from the other,

"…My brother is dead." he said back, making the other lieutenants whisper amongst themselves as they looked at each other in confusion.

"What do you mean Shockblast, why is Six-Shot dead?" Galvatron replied with a confused tone, though had the others known any of the reality of what had really happened. Then they would have seen through the Predacon Lord's screen play, that he and Shockwave had concocted between them.

"I killed him." the scientist Con said back, earning shocked expressions from the others while Galvatron fought to keep a smirk from his face.

"Why did you kill him?" Lazerback asked.

"Because I came across plans that he had on his personal terminal which outlined his intentions to kill our Liege and take command himself and when I confronted him about this, he attacked me and left me with no choice." Shockwave replied.

"Well, its not like we haven't all seen his behaviour over the last few weeks." Rip-Claw replied, gaining nods from the others which made Galvatron's smile widen more as he looked over to Shockwave.

' _They bought it, excellent._ ' he thought before shifting his expression to concerned as the others turned to face him again.

"Thank you Shockblast, you have done me a great service. It warms my spark to see that my lieutenants are watching my back as well as helping to our achieve my goals."

"You are welcome my Liege." the Con replied before looking at the hologram behind the Predacon Lord.

"May I ask what you have found Lord Galvatron?" he then asked, making everyone else look at their Leader with curious expressions.

"Indeed you may Shockblast. After looking through our navigational records, I have found where we must go next." he replied before stepping aside and letting the others see the holo-blue and green planet being emitted on the galaxy map.

"This world is where we will find our victory, here on the planet which the database calls 'Virmire'."

"Does this have anything to do with that blade you picked up on Scissio my Lord?" Blight asked, gaining a nod from Galvatron who then unsheathed the Chaos Edge and held it before them all.

"Yes, this blade along with Jackson Prime's Matrix of Leadership will activate an ancient Cybertronian Temple, which will in turn give us the power to crush all of our enemies and conquer this galaxy."

The other Predacons just stared back in wonder as it dawned on them how soon this would all be over, Lazerback took a step towards Galvatron and raised his hand.

"My Lord, what is our next move?"

"The Nemesis will be heading for Virmire at the close of this meeting, and I want the entire fleet to join us there."

"But Lord Galvatron since the rest of our ships do not possess their own space-bridge generator, it will take them at least a few days to reach Virmire via the nearest space-bridge." Rip-Claw replied, gaining a nod from the Predacon Lord.

"Then you better tell them to make a start, now go back to your stations and prepare for the jump to Virmire…its time for us to embrace our destiny."

The lieutenants all nodded before turning and walking away, leaving Galvatron and Shockwave alone at the galaxy map.

"That was nicely played Shockwave, they all bought it like I knew they would." the Predacon Lord said back, earning a nod from the Decepticon.

"You are welcome my Liege, but now if I may ask to take my leave and return to my laboratory?"

"Of course, I believe you should have received Ser-Ket by now." Galvatron said back as he turned back to the holo-image of Virmire.

"That is correct my Liege and once her wounds are fully healed, I believe I have a way to make her a loyal soldier to you once more." Shockwave replied.

"Very well, you may go." the Predacon Lord said in return, which made the Decepticon Scientist walk off towards the exit just as the Terracon manning the helm-station below looked up.

"My Lord, coordinates are set, space-bridge generator primed. We are ready to move on your command."

"The command is given, take us to Virmire." Galvatron replied as he stared out at the void beyond the glass canopy in front of him, earning a nod from the Terracon who then worked the holo-interface of his station. Then suddenly a bright green vortex opened and expanded before the Nemesis before it flew head first into it and flash of bright green light later, the ship found itself before the blue and green world of Virmire, on the other side of the galaxy.

"Excellent, now take us into orbit and start making sensor sweeps of the planet. I want to know if we can locate the Infinite Combinatoric." the Predacon leader said as he looked down at the world below him through the glass canopy.

"Sir, I am not reading any anomalous energy readings from the planet. The temple is obviously offline right now." another Terracon spoke from the right side of Galvatron below the catwalk.

"Then I guess we will have to wait for the rest of the fleet to arrive, then we should be able to locate the temple with our increased sensor range and depth." the Predacon Lord replied, earning a nod from the Terracon manning the sensors station.

"Yes my Lord, but I am detecting a small area of the planet which is blanketed in radiation."

"That is of no concern to us, it is nothing but a foot print left from the early days of the Reaper Conflict. Pay it no mind." Galvatron said back before looking down at the Communications station.

"Has the rest of the fleet been notified of our location?"

"Yes Lord Galvatron, we have used the new communication frequencies and the entirety of our fleet will be here inside of three days." the Terracon there replied, earning a smile from the Con leader.

"Excellent, and with the Autobots unaware of our location. That leaves us with all the time in the world to find the temple and activate it." he said to himself as he looked back out at the planet below, his smiling face looking back via his reflection from the canopy.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Hock stood in the CIC aboard Lockdown's ship, looking impressed at his surroundings as he watched the Mechs working at the room's various terminals. They looked very similar to the standard LOKI Mechs that were being used as a security measure around the galaxy, yet this model looked more armoured with a more humanoid physique.

"I do not believe that I have ever seen this type of Mech Lockdown." he said as he looked over to the former Decepticon who was sitting in the Commander's chair, overseeing the rest of the CIC.

"They are a special design that the Shadow Broker gained possession of and feels are necessary to the operation of 'his' ever expanding organisation." he replied, though with a hint of uncertainty in his voice. This did not go unnoticed by Hock as he glanced back at the lifeless robots

"You don't sound like you really accept this." he said, gaining Lockdown's attention.

"I'm am not a fan of androids, they are programmed with only the data that is needed for them to complete their given tasks. I prefer people who can think and adapt to whatever situation is thrust upon them."

"I find that an interesting view, considering how you and your species began." Hock replied with a knowing look, making the former Decepticon stare back with narrowed eyes.

"We Cybertronians are nothing like these walking tin-men, we were all 'born' sentient. With the ability to choose our own paths in life, even if the dogmatic caste system that the original High Council had put in place led to the very Civil war that destroyed our home world. Since that bloody chapter of our history was put to an end, we have lived with a greater freedom to pursue paths which seemed only like a dream originally. So don't go labelling myself and others of my species alongside these walking circuit boards."

"Forgive me, I meant no disrespect." Hock replied while taking a step back from the Assassin before looking back around the room.

"Why don't we have a canopy here, so that we can see what's outside?" he then asked, trying to change the subject which made Lockdown smirk in return.

"My vessel requires no canopy, for a view screen will appear when it is required."

Then one of the Mechs turned around and looked over to both men, lifeless red optics staring at them.

"Sir, we are approaching the target."

"Target?" Hock said back with a confused tone, but Lockdown ignored him and looked straight ahead.

"On screen."

Suddenly a blue holo-screen appeared on the wall before them, showing an Autobot frigate flying just in front of them."

"Wait, is that?" the arms dealer asked, earning a nod from Lockdown.

"That is the 'Normandy', the very ship that belongs to the Autobots who embarrassed you and the Asari that the Shadow Broker wants us to capture."

"How did we reach it so fast, I did not feel us jump to hyperspace? And how have they not detected us, we are right behind them?"

The former Decepticon smiled before nodding to one of the Mechs at his right.

"This vessel is equipped with both a Space-bridge generator and stealth system, the same as the Normandy."

Hock listened while staring back out at the Autobot ship, still amazed that they were so close to them.

"How…" he began to say before the Lockdown cut him off.

"Lets just say that our benefactor has a way of getting his hands on the tech and equipment we require."

"You keep calling the Shadow Broker a 'he', how do you know that?" Hock then asked with a knowing look,

"I have never met the Shadow Broker, only one person in our organisation has had the honour of meeting 'him'."

"And who is that?" the Human asked back with a curious tone to the former Decepticon.

"Agent Zero, she alone is the Shadow Broker's most trusted confidante. She has told me that our Leader is a 'he'."

"And you believe her, who is this Agent Zero?"

"It is not my place to reveal her identity to you, that should come from her when you meet. Anyway, that is enough questions for now." Lockdown replied as the doors behind them opened and a human and a Batarian entered the CIC.

"We are nearly ready Lockdown, I am looking forward to seeing that Asari again." the latter said before noticing Hock.

"Mr Hock, looks like we will be working together again."

"Yes Varas, and what of you Kane?" the arms dealer said as he looked over to the bald Human in rusty black armour.

"I am just looking forward to getting paid, so lets get on with it." he said back, making Lockdown shake his head in return.

"No Slaver, we will go when I say so. So for the time being, just be ready." the former Decepticon replied as one of the Mechs turned to him.

"Commander, we have Agent Zero on hold for your attention."

"I will take it in my quarters." he said as he got up and walked out of the room, leaving Hock and the slavers in the CIC.

Once in his personal quarters Lockdown activated his terminal, a glowing blue inter-face appeared before him as he activated the audio transmission.

"Agent Zero, Lockdown here."

"The Shadow Broker wishes to know your status Lockdown." the female agent replied. Earning a knowing look from the Assassin.

"Like he is not already aware of how our operation is proceeding, so I have to ask why are you contacting me really?"

"Do you really trust these men you are working with?" the Agent asked back with an inquisitive tone.

"About as much as I trust these Mechs I have been burdened with Zero, but I will see this mission completed and the Asari brought back to base." he replied.

"So why do I sense a feeling on uncertainty from you then?" she said back.

"What does the Shadow Broker want with this Liara T'Soni? There is nothing special about her what so ever, unless you count her being the daughter of Matriarch Benezia."

"It's not our place to question why the Shadow Broker wants, just that he gets it. I am sure he has good reasons for wanting the Asari. Now do your duty and attack the Normandy, Agent Zero out."

And with that the transmission fizzled out, leaving the Assassin to his thoughts before he tapped his com-link.

"CIC, this is Lockdown. Take us to battle-stations and prepare for the attack." he then said before the lighting around him changed to red and battle siren blared out of the ship's intercom as he walked over to the exit and headed for the CIC.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile the crew of the Normandy continued to perform their duties to the best of their abilities, but after what had happened on Scissio you could see that their moral had been hit hard. Both Grunt and Quickstrike were in the Medical-Bay getting patched up, all they could do was watch crewmen walk past the room as they sat on their separate berths. Neither had said anything as they sat there, not even to the nurses who were dressing their wounds at that point. But then Red-Alert walked in from the operating theatre, gaining the attention of both men.

"How's the Commander and Smokescreen?" the Blonde Bot asked, beating the Krogan to it as he simply looked at the Doctor.

"Commander Rodimus will recover, if Liara had not stopped the bleeding when she did then it would have been a different story. And as for Smokescreen, I have removed the bullet and patched him up. Both men won't be leaving their berths any time soon, so we will monitor their conditions and keep them comfortable. As for you two, I'll be letting you return to duty as soon as the Nurses have finished." the Femme replied as she placed a pad she was holding down on table nearby before looking back at the Blonde Bot.

"Where is Orion, I have seen Liara, Nightracer and the two of you. He is the last one left."

"Orion was in the CIC since he is next in line to take command in Rodimus's absence. He is taking the defeat pretty hard."

"Well I told Rodimus to kill Galvatron when we had him dead to rights but he paused, this would never have happened if he had listened to me and Smokescreen." Grunt replied with hint of anger in his voice, making Quickstrike look back and narrow his eyes at the Krogan.

"That doesn't matter now does it, it happened. Save your anger for the Predacons." the Blonde Bot said back, making Grunt bare his teeth and get of the berth before the Nurse had finished.

"What did you just say? I couldn't hear you from over there." he said, barely hiding his angry tone as he walked over to Quickstrike.

"I'm saying that criticising our friend and Commander isn't helping our situation, so why don't you just shut up." the Blonde Bot said back, earning a growl from the Krogan as he walked right up to the Autobot and stared him in the eye.

"You dare speak to me like that!" he spat while slamming his closed fist on the berth Quickstrike was sitting on, he could feel the power in the hit as it made the berth vibrate. But the Autobot just sat there and looked back, as inside he held his breath while Red-Alert could do nothing but watch in shock.

"I am trying to speak some sense into you, your hurt and angry and ready to lash out."

"That's it!" Grunt then roared as he threw a punch at the blonde Autobot, but it stopped just millimetres from his face as blue energy surrounded the fist. The pair looked over to the door to find Liara standing there, she had her left hand stretched out before her which too was glowing with biotic energy.

"What in the Goddess's name is going on here?" she spat in an uncharacteristic show of anger as she stared at Grunt, who looked as shocked as everyone else.

"…these two were about to leave now, as their wounds have been tended too and patched up." Red-Alert replied as she finally found her composure due to the Asari's appearance, earning a nod from Grunt as Liara released his hand. He then took one look back to the operating theatre before storming out of the room.

"Thanks Liara." Quickstrike replied as he got off his berth and prepared to leave the room, earning a gesture to stop from her.

"Grunt is just upset from the fact that both his friends nearly died today." she said back in her more characteristically calm tone, gaining a nod from the blonde Bot.

"I know, still thanks for the save. Anyway why are you here?" he said back, earning a curious look from Red-Alert.

"Yes, I treated you already Liara." she said in return.

"I was looking for Orion, I thought he would be down here by now." the Asari replied.

"No, we haven't seen him since we got back on board. I thought he was in the CIC." Quickstrike added, making Liara shake her head in return.

"No, he was not there when I went to see him now. So I thought I would check here…." she answered before the inter-com activated, cutting her off.

"Red-Alert, this is the Communications station. We have a transmission for you from Autobot Command." a female crewman said, gaining a nod from the Femme.

"Okay, put it through. I'm sorry Liara."

"Of course." the Asari replied before going quiet and letting the Doctor deal with the transmission.

"Red-Alert, this is Admiral Hackett." a grizzly voiced older man spoke back over the inter-com, gaining a curious look from the Femme.

"Admiral? please forgive my bluntness but what can I do for you, since I have a lot on my plate right now."

"I have read the report that was sent back to me about the mission, and I hope Commander Rodimus and Smokescreen make a quick recovery. God knows we will need them and everyone else on board the Normandy in the days to come, but I have news for you about Long-Arm."

Hearing that name made both Red-Alert and Quickstrike's attention heighten.

"Long-Arm!" the Blonde Bot replied, gaining a look from the Femme.

"You know my boyfriend? She asked with an inquisitive look.

"Yes, we became friends while serving on Omicron. He and I helped some civilians escape when the Predacons attacked, he flew the shuttle away." he answered before turning his attention to the Admiral's transmission.

"That is correct Quickstrike, I guess this is for you too." the Admiral said before going silent for a moment.

"Admiral, what is it?" Red-Alert said back, the tone of her voice becoming agitated at his silence.

"There is no easy way for me to tell you this…." Hackett then said, which made the sparks of both Red-Alert and Quickstrike suddenly go heavy.

"…but I am sorry to have to tell you that Long-Arm is dead." the Admiral finished, which made the Femme collapse into the chair that was behind her as the entire world shattered around her.

"What!" Quickstrike replied with a mixture of confusion and anger in his voice while Liara looked on in shocked silence.

"The Autobot cruiser 'Wrecker's Fist' found the shuttle adrift in the middle of the Ondeste system while searching for Predacon vessels, everyone on board had died of exposure to the vacuum of space. The shuttle had suffered damage from what appears to have been a fire fight and had simply lost power." Hackett continued, but his words became background noise to Red-Alert who was had become lost in her own thoughts as she tried to comprehend the reality that just been dropped on her.

"I don't know what to say." Quickstrike replied in a shocked tone, as he too found the news hard to bare before turning towards the Medical-Bay's exit.

"I have…I have to go." he said as walked out of the room, his mind filled with thoughts of his fallen friend which also brought back similar thoughts of Ser-Ket. This left Liara and Red-Alert with the Nurses in the room.

"…Admiral, I would like to be alone now…if you don't mind." she said while fighting back the tears that were beginning to form around her eyes.

"I understand Red-Alert, again I am very sorry for you loss. Hackett out." the Admiral replied before the inter-com went silent.

"Everyone….take a…break please, I would like to be alone." the Doctor said, earning sympathetic looks from her staff.

"We understand Doctor, but what about…" one started to say, but the Femme cut her off suddenly.

"The Commander and Smokescreen are out of danger, I will monitor them…no please go." she said again, this time with a slightly aggravated tone to her voice while she barely held back her grief. So the Nurses nodded in return before leaving the Medical-Bay, as Liara took a step towards the Femme.

"Red-Alert, I am so sorry for your loss. If you ever need to talk, then I am here for you….because I know what your going through." she said in a sympathetic and experienced tone, gaining a nod from the Autobot Doctor.

"Thank you Liara, but for right now….I would prefer to be alone." she said back in a respectful tone, earning a understanding expression from the Asari.

"Okay." was all she said back before walking out of the room, leaving Red-Alert on her own and there and then the Femme just let go of her control and began to bawl out there and then with her head in her hands, tears running down her face as she let her grief take over.

Liara though continued to look for Orion, and though she did not want to leave Red-Alert alone, in-fact the Asari wanted to do the exact opposite. But she knew from personal experience that did not always help, so she refocused on her original task and that was to find the ship's suddenly illusive XO, and she felt as though she knew where to look.

Orion sat in his quarters, his desk covered in data pads with the Star-Saber lying over them. The lighting was on a low setting as he tended to his cuts and bruises. He also had used syringes of Medi-gel lying around, which he had used to heal any damaged bones and organs that he may have suffered from due to his fight with Galvatron. But after he finished dressing the last of his wounds, the young Darby just sat there and sighed before his attention was caught by his door chiming.

' _Great, who is it now?_ ' he thought as he looked over to the door.

"Orion, its Liara."

The Autobot suddenly felt a little better knowing that it wasn't any other member of the crew and got up from his chair.

"Open." he said, which made the door slide open and allow the Asari to enter, her eyes immediately falling upon the Blue haired Bot.

"Orion, what are you doing in here. You should be in the CIC." she asked with a concerned tone.

"I came here to think and to tend to my wounds, basically to get away for a moment." he said back in an honest tone.

"But with Rodimus incapacitated, that puts you in command. You should be out there, where everyone can see you. To give them hope that all is not lost and so not lose themselves to despair." Liara replied as the Bot sat back down in his chair and gave her a knowing look.

"I am sorry Liara, but I screwed up." he said back before looking away, making the Asari walk over and kneel in front of him.

"How did you screw up Orion? Because the way I remember it, Galvatron defeated us all." she asked with a serious expression.

"I had the opportunity to finish Galvatron off, but I was so consumed with anger for what he had done to Rodimus….that I lost control and gave that Predacon the advantage." he said back with a guilt-laden tone.

"Orion, we all make mistakes."

"Yeah, but I have made more than a few already which I have yet to learn from." he then spat back as he got up and walked over to the other side of the room, surprising Liara who stood up too.

"What do you mean?"

"If it is not my anger, then it is my over-confidence. I still don't see why that blade has chosen me." he said as he looked back at the dormant Star-Saber lying over his desk, and Liara looked down at the blade too before refocusing her attention on the blue haired man.

"Orion, the Star-Saber obviously sees something in you that is worthy of it, or else it would never have let you hold it. Nobody is perfect, I know for a fact that your Father and Optimus before him made mistakes too. You shouldn't beat yourself up for it, for no Leader is infallible." she replied while moving over to his side.

"But everyone out there is expecting me to know what to do and how to react." he then said back while looking back at the Asari directly in the eyes.

"But you have been in command before during this mission." she replied, making Orion shake his head in return.

"No, I have always been support for my Commanding Officer. I never wanted to be in command myself, and now this has happened and I find myself as lost as we are all feeling..." he replied as the Asari just watched and listened intently.

"...Because the truth is I have no idea what I am supposed to do, or even any idea on what I can do."

Liara though raised her hand up to his face, gently brushing her fingers against his cheek.

"Orion, I know this is hard for you…as it is for all of us. But your crew needs you right now, because while Rodimus is bed stricken, your all they have left and you need to be strong for them. Now I know you can do this…..and so does that." she said back while pointing down at the Star-Saber, making the Bot sigh in response before looking back at her.

"You don't give up do you?" he asked earning a slight smile from Liara.

"On you, never."

Orion smiled back as he took a breath and regained his composure, before taking the Asari's hand in his own.

"You know I can't imagine what my life would be like without you in it Liara." he suddenly confessed, which made her heart warm as she smiled back.

"I feel the same about you Orion."

"I don't know exactly when it happened, but I want you to know that I am glad it did." he said back as the two began to lean in closer to each other.

"Orion…" she started to say before she felt his breath on her lips as they were now just millimetres apart, until she then closed the distance as they kissed. From the instance their lips met, everything else melted away as they lost themselves in each other. Orion wrapped his arms around Liara's waist and pulled her close, the Asari moaned into the kiss as she did the same. Nothing else existed for the pair at this time as time itself appeared to slow to a standstill, suddenly the Normandy was rocked by what felt like an explosion.

"What the hell was that?" Orion said as the pair pulled away in surprise, Liara giving him an equally confused expression.

"I don't know, felt like something hit us." she replied as the Blue haired Bot tapped his com-link.

"Orion to CIC, report!" he said in suddenly commanding tone, all the doubt and insecurity that had plagued him moments earlier now gone.

"Orion, we are under attack. An unknown ship just appeared behind us and open fired." Jetstorm replied, as the battle-stations siren blared out around the pair.

"Take evasive action, we are on our…..." the young Darby began to say, before being cut off as the ship was rocked by another explosion.

"Damn it, they just took out our engines. We are dead in the water." the pilot replied, earning a look of shock from Orion as he stared at Liara before picking up the Star-Saber.

"Lets go."

Meanwhile on board Lockdown's ship, the Assassin was in the Commander's chair watching the Normandy begin to drift on the view-screen as Hock and Varas stood either side of him.

"They never saw us coming." Hock said with an impressed tone, while both Lockdown and Varas ignored him.

"The Normandy has been crippled." one of the Mechs then said, earning a smile from the former Decepticon.

"Good, latch on to the enemy ship and prepare to dock." he said back as he stood up and looked at the Batarian.

"Varas, have your team ready. Our sensors have picked up a single Asari life sign at this section of the Normandy, so we will dock there and breach the hull for you to board and capture her."

"What will you be doing?" Hock asked back, feeling somewhat cut out of the plan.

"I will use a Ground-bridge to enter their shuttle-bay and plant an explosive device there, then we will destroy the ship remotely once everyone is back on board." Lockdown replied while looking back at the arms dealer.

"You can watch the entire operation unfold from here Hock."

"May I sit in your chair?" the human asked, earning an eye roll from the Assassin as he turned his back to him.

"Do as you wish, just remember who's ship it is. Let's go." he then said before he and Varas left the CIC and Hock made himself comfortable in the Commander's chair.

Back on the Normandy, the crew worked frantically either at their stations or putting out the fires in the CIC as Jetstorm remained at post just as Quickstrike joined him in the cockpit.

"What the hell just happened?" he asked, while Jetstorm kept his attention on his holo-interface.

"We are under attack, I just informed Orion and he is on his way to the CIC as we speak."

"Where is the enemy now?" the Blonde Bot said in return, making the pilot type the holo-keys in front of him and bring up the sensor screen which hissed with static every now and then.

"Damn it, all systems are messing up. But…" the Autobot replied as he saw the red dot moving up alongside them.

"Looks like they are planning to board us…" he added with a tinge of shock in his voice, earning a serious expression from Quickstrike.

"Can you tell me where?" he said back, gaining a nod from Jetstorm before typed away and made a projected course appear on of the many holo-screens surrounding the pilot.

"The crew deck, starboard section….where Orion is."

"Right, tell Orion. I will get the others and meet him there." the Blonde Bot said back before turning around and making his way back to the CIC.

"Wait…" Jetstorm then shouted, regaining the Bot's attention.

"I am picking up a ground-bridge opening in the shuttle-bay."

"Damn it, okay I am on my way down there. Have anyone nearby meet me there and tell Orion what is happening." Quickstrike said back before heading back into the CIC, earning a nod from the pilot.

"Aye aye." he said as he returned his attention to his holo-interface.

On the crew deck, Orion and Liara exited his quarters and entered the corridor which was still basked in red light from the battle-stations siren which continued to blare out.

"We need to find the others and figure out our next move." the Blue haired Bot said, gaining a nod from the Asari.

"Orion, Jetstorm here." the pilot then spoke through the com-link, which Orion then reconfigured so Liara could hear it to.

"I'm here with Liara, what's our status?" the Bot replied as they stopped in the center of the corridor.

"We are being boarded, Quickstrike is rallying the others to join him in the shuttle-bay since a ground-bridge vortex has been detected there." the pilot said back.

"Alright, we will meet them there." the young Darby replied, earning a nod from Liara.

"I don't think you will have time for that Orion." Jetstorm said, gaining curious looks from both the Bot and Asari.

"What do you mean?" she asked back.

"Because whoever the enemy ship is, they are attempting to dock with us…at your location!" the pilot said and as if on cue, the ship again shook as the strain on the hull could be heard around the pair.

"Roger that." Orion replied as he readied his pistol and Liara clenched her fists, before the wall in front of them suddenly exploded and knocked the two onto their backs. Everything went fuzzy for a moment as the Autobot Spectre heard ringing in his ears as he attempted to get back to his feet, and the Asari experience similar feelings as she looked ahead at the large hole which had been blown open in the wall. Her sight was somewhat blurry, but she could just make out several figures as they stepped out onto the deck.

"There she is boys, right where they said she would be." a voice spoke out, which made her eyes widen in shock before anger took over. For this was a voice that she recognised and thought she would never hear again as she sat up and looked at the new arrivals, just as he eyes regained focus to see the Batarian and his Salvers.

"You!" she spat, earning a smile from Varas.

"She remembers us, isn't that precious. Get her boys!" he then said, as the other armoured men rushed at her. But Liara's heart and blood began to boil with anger as her mind became overrun with memories of her time as their prisoner, empowering her and heightening her biotics. This made her glow with energy as she launched herself at the Slavers, just as Orion recovered and looked back in confusion and shock.

"Liara!" he shouted back as he saw her fight with the armoured men, earning curious looks from the Batarian and the other Human standing next to him.

"Who's that Varas?" Kane asked, earning a shrug from his boss.

"Who cares, kill him." Varas replied, to which the Human Slaver raised his weapon at Orion and smiled before pulling the trigger. But Orion managed to use the Star-Saber to deflect the shot, to his own amazement and that of the Slavers.

"What the…how did he?" Kane asked before firing three more shots which the Blue haired Bot deflected with ease, gaining a confident smile from him.

"take him out the old fashioned way….while I deal with our Asari." Varas replied before activating holo-armour around his body and walking towards Liara who finished with the last of the soldiers. Kane nodded as he activated his holo-sabers, each one looking like a Katana before he took a fighting stance. Orion did the same before they both charged at each other, meanwhile Liara dropped the last soldier to the floor and looked back to see Varas walking over to her, a look of utter glee on his face as he licked his lips.

"I was hoping we would see each other again my dear. There is so much more you could 'learn' from me." he said back in a slimy manner, earning a look of utter disdain and hate from the Asari.

"I'll never let you or any Slaver touch me again!" she spat while taking on a defensive stance and began glowing with biotic energy, making the Batarian's smile widen even more.

"Oh I will touch you, and make you feel it." he said back before launching himself at her.

Meanwhile Lockdown and his Mechs were already in the shuttle-bay and planting the large explosive device in the center of the large room, just as Quickstrike, Nightracer, Shen and Grunt entered.

"Autobots!" the Assassin shouted before firing back at the group, making them scatter and take cover behind nearby cargo containers as several of his Mechs joined in. Nightracer fired back before her eyes widened as she recognised the enemy leader.

"Can't be." she said, gaining a curious expression from Quickstrike.

"What?" he asked before firing several shots back at the Mechs, blowing the head off one as he did so.

"That's Lockdown." she simply said back, earning a shrug from the Blonde Bot.

"Who's that?" Grunt said back, beating him to it.

"He was a Decepticon, I remember my mother telling me about him from her Con days." she replied before taking another shot at the robot soldiers.

"Whoever he is, let's kick him off our ship," Shen said back before putting down three more of the Mechs, gaining nods from his friends as they all fired simultaneously. This barrage of gunfire made Lockdown hide behind the heavily armoured bomb while the remaining Mechs were annihilated.

"That's what I have come to expect from Autobots." he said to himself with a measure of respect in his voice before bringing up his holo-tool and activating the bomb, a timer on it then lit up and revealed a three minute countdown.

"Your out gunned and outmatched, surrender." Nightracer called out, earning a sigh from the former Decepticon as he threw his gun aside and stood up from behind the device. He looked at the group and smiled as he recognised the Femme.

"You must be Slipstream's daughter, I would recognise those eyes anywhere." he said back, earning a surprised expression from Nightracer who kept her gun on him as the others took positions around the Assassin.

"Lockdown…your under arrest." she replied, making him smirk back in an unconvinced manner.

"Really, I don't really feel threatened at all if that's what you're trying to achieve." he said back, making Grunt grit his teeth and let off a low growl.

"We can change that." he said back, but the former Decepticon ignored him and continued to look at Nightracer.

"So what now?" he said back, though his expression was that of someone who did not care.

"Who are you working for?" she asked back in a firm tone.

"Is it the Predacons?" Quickstrike quickly added, gaining a knowing look from Lockdown.

"I work for someone who wants you all out of the way, that's all I…." he began to say before his com-link activated.

"That's the bitch that broke my nose! Kill her!" Hock suddenly screamed, earning a slight grimace from the Assassin as his ears felt that one.

"In good time." he replied calmly, earning confused looks from the Autobots.

"Who are you talking to?" Shen asked while keeping his pistol aimed at the former Con.

"Never mind that…." he said before looking around himself.

"…Can you hear that?" he then added, making the Autobots glance at each other with further confused expressions.

"Can we hear wh…" Quickstrike said back before he suddenly heard a low beeping coming from the large device next to them, so he looked down at it and saw the timer counting down.

"Oh shit, it's a bomb!" he exclaimed earning the looks of the others as they looked down at the device, earning a smile from the Assassin as a ground-bridge portal opened up behind him.

"Yes it is, have fun." Lockdown replied before stepping backwards into the portal which then closed before anyone could retaliate, leaving the group standing there with the explosive device counting down.

Back on the crew deck, Orion and Liara continued their fight with the Slavers as the Blue haired Bot got the upper hand on Kane, side kicking the human Merc in the side before grabbing his arm and throwing him to the ground hard. The Spectre then turned his attention to the Asari and her adversary, with him lunging with his holo-blade only for her to evade with a biotic charge which made her dash to his right in the blink of an eye. She then grabbed his free arm and broke it, which made Varas cry out in pain before she got him in a head lock and kicked at his leg, causing him to fall to his knees.

"You Bitch!" he said back while blood filled his mouth.

"I am going to make you pay for that!" he continued while the Asari tightened her grip around his neck, a look of complete calmness on her face at this moment.

"No…you won't hurt anyone ever again." she replied before then snapping his neck and silencing him once and for all, earning a look of surprise from Orion as she dropped the body to the floor in a heap.

"Liara?"

The Asari looked back before Kane regained both their attention, as he got back to his feet.

"One more to go!" she then replied as the Human Slaver's com-link activated.

"Have you secured the Asari?" Lockdown spoke, making Kane shake his head while stepping backwards from the pair.

"Negative, our team is down and Varas is dead." he said back.

"Scrap, get back to the ship. I know of another way to secure her." the former Decepticon replied, earning a nod from the Human as he then equipped a flash bang grenade and threw it down to the ground between himself and the pair, which made Orion grab Liara and pull her towards him just before the device exploded into a blinding light.

"Orion." she said back in surprise before the light faded and the couple opened their eyes to find themselves alone in the corridor.

"You okay?" he asked as they looked at each other.

"Yes, but what about…" she started to say, making Orion cup her face in his hands and look her in the eyes.

"They were after you Liara, there's no point running onto their ship and into what's obviously a trap." he said back calmly, earning a nod from her as she held on to him tightly before he looked down at the dead slavers, including Varas.

"These were the Slavers that…." he started to say before Liara cut him off.

"Yes, yes they are." she said back as he felt her physically shake in his arms, so he held her so close to his chest, the Bot swore that he could feel her heart beat.

"I completely agree with what you did Liara, and I swear we will get the rest of them. No one hurts…my girl." he then found himself saying, making the Asari pull back enough to look him in the eyes with a curious expression.

"Your girl…" she asked back, almost making Orion blush as he sighed.

"Oh…yeah. I just thought since we did kiss…uh.." he started to say before she interrupted him by placing a finger on his lips and smiling at him, he blue eyes glistening as he found himself lost in them.

"I like that…" she said back as they leaned in for a kiss, but suddenly the ship shook around them again as the sounds of something dislodging itself caught Orion's attention, making him look back at the hole in the wall.

"Scrap, we have to move now!" he said as he gripped Liara's hand tight and the two ran for the adjourning corridor, picking up the Star-Saber as they ran past. The pair made it to the corridor just as the ship's atmosphere started to escape through the gaps being created from the unknown ship, with Orion bringing up his holo-tool and creating a force-field that blocked off their corridor from the other just as the enemy craft pulled away and exposed said area to the vacuum of space.

"That was close." Liara said with a breath of relief as she and Orion looked on as the dead bodies were sucked through the hole in the hull and out of sight.

"Orion to CIC, come in." the Blue haired Bot then said into his com-link, but the only reply he received was static.

Meanwhile Lockdown re-entered the CIC of his ship and gestured for Hock to get out of his chair, all the while never taking his eyes off the Normandy which once again began to drift through the void in front of them.

"We have successfully broken off from the Normandy." the Mech manning the helm stated, earning a grin from the former Decepticon.

"Locate and target the section where the Asari life sign is." he replied, earning a look of confusion from Hock as he stood there and watched.

"What are you doing?" he asked, but Lockdown ignored him and focused on the view screen.

"Arm one low yield torpedo and prepare a Ground-bridge portal, targeted for several feet outside that part of the Normandy to open several seconds after launch." he added, gaining nods from the Mechs at both the weapons and helm stations.

"Area targeted, weapons armed." one replied.

"Ground-bridge ready." the other added.

"Fire!" Lockdown then commanded, as the Mech pressed one mechanical finger down on it's holo-interface. With that the ship fired the glowing red torpedo which hurtled towards the stricken Normandy and impacted the hull, causing an explosion which ripped that section apart.

Suddenly everything that happened next, did so extremely fast for Orion and Liara as the ceiling over them was ripped open and exposing them both to open space. Orion instinctively embedded the Star-Saber into the ground quickly as he held tightly on to his lover, as they both suddenly felt like they were in the middle of a hurricane as the atmosphere was sucked out of the gaping hole over them and pulled their feet from beneath them. The pair felt the extreme pressure of the vacuum of space yanking at their bodies as the Spectre held on to the hilt of the Star-Saber for dear life.

"Don't let go Liara, the emergency force fields will kick in soon." he shouted back, gaining a nod from the Asari as she tightened her grip around his body while he did the same. But the force at which the Bot was fighting against was too much for him, and he could feel his strength beginning to fail him.

' _No, I can't…I won't let us die….come on force-field, activate already._ ' he thought as his grasp started to slip slightly from the hilt of the Star-Saber which at this time was the only thing anchoring him and his Asari lover to the Normandy. But as another few seconds passed, the force field still did not activate and the blue haired Bot felt his body fail.

"I'm sorry." he said before his grip completely slipped and he and Liara were sucked out of the gaping hole in the Normandy hull and out into space. But just as the pair felt the air vacate their lungs rather violently, a bright green vortex opened up and swallowed them whole before closing just as quickly.

Lockdown smiled as he tapped his com-link while watching the action on the CIC's main view-screen.

"Do we have them and are they alive?" he asked before a familiar voice spoke back to him.

"Yes Lockdown, and they are alive if slightly frost-bitten."

"Good, get them to the Infirmary and deal with their wounds. But don't let them out of your sight Thane, don't screw this second chance up or you know what the consequences will be." the former Decepticon replied before ending the transmission.

"So what now, when does the Normandy blow?" Hock asked, which made Lockdown look down at his holo-tool and read the timer that was currently counting down on it's small screen.

"It's several seconds away Hock, take a look…" he replied before looking over to the Mech manning the helm.

"Bring us about and take us away from the Normandy, and set the view-screen to aft view."

The Mech nodded and did what he was asked as the screen showed them turning away before suddenly making the Autobot ship appear again and get smaller as it continued to drift through space.

"Its about time.." the arms dealer then said as he watched the Normandy drift further away before suddenly exploding in a massive fireball, which made him smile from ear to ear, earning a curious look from Lockdown.

"I suppose you are happy now?" he replied with Hock nodding in return while keeping his attention on the explosion, savouring every second of it.

"Yes, that was well worth it."

"Good, then let's get moving. Helm, set a course for the 'home'." Lockdown said as he leaned back in his chair as the view-screen switched back to the front view just in time to witness a space-bridge vortex open up and envelope the ship in green light.

 


	34. Chapter 34

Minutes earlier…..

The situation was growing desperate onboard the Normandy which was still connected the to the unknown enemy ship. Down in the Shuttle-Bay, Quickstrike and the other Autobots stood around the explosive device, unsure of what to do while it's timer continued to count down towards zero and detonation.

"So, anyone here know bomb disposal?" Shen asked with a worried tone, making everyone else shake their heads in return.

"No. But even if any of us did, I don't see any openings or access of any kind for anyone to even try." Quickstrike replied as he knelt next to it and looked around the timer

"Well what do we do?" Nightracer said as she walked around the bomb, looking at it's base, noticing another problem for the team.

"The damn thing has been fused to the deck, I don't think any of us would be able to move it." she added before looking up at the Blonde Bot and noticing his thoughtful expression.

"What is it?" she asked him.

"We may not be able to move it, but I know someone who can." Quickstrike replied before looking behind him at both Grunt and Shen, making the Krogan narrow his eyes back at the Blonde Autobot.

"Don't look at me, I can't move it." he spat back, making the Blonde Autobot shake his head in response.

"I wasn't looking at you!" he replied as he pointed behind the pair at the back wall of the Shuttle-Bay, gaining the others attention as they looked back and noticed that it wasn't just a wall but closed blast door.

"Wait…that's the Cargo-Bay back there right." Shen stated, earning a nod from Quickstrike as he tapped his com-link.

"Jetstorm, do you read?"

"I'm here, what's going on down there. I have lost internal sensors across the Normandy." the pilot replied.

"How bad is the damage so far?" the Blonde Bot asked, while Nightracer gestured back to him about the timer,

"Engines and weapons are offline, not many systems are fully operational…why?" Jetstorm said back as he looked at the flashing images of the ship's schematics on his holo-interface.

"Tell me the Stealth-mode still works?" Quickstrike replied as he tapped his com-link again and let the rest of the team listen in.

"It is still active, but I don't think it would last long. But we still have that other ship hooked onto us, what good would it do?" the pilot answered.

"Just be ready to use it and wait for my say so, I am leaving this channel online…so standby." the Autobot said before looking back at the others.

"So you have a plan?" Grunt asked, gaining a nod back.

"Yeah, that Lockdown is expecting that explosive to destroy us right…" he said while Shen glanced down at the timer and noticed that it had passed the two minute margin, earning a gulp from the Turian before he activated his holo-tool and started a similar timer.

"..so we will let it go off." Quickstrike continued before activating his holo-tool.

"Say what?" Nightracer replied with a shocked look, earning similar reactions from the rest of the team. But the Blonde Bot ignored her and turned his attention to the Cargo-Bay door, and with a push of a button on his holo-interface made the door open with a grinding-like noise. And it opened to reveal Onyx Primal looking back at them while on his hands and knees.

"What in the All-Spark is going on here?" he asked back, his blue optics focusing on the group.

"We are under attack." Quickstrike replied, while Nightracer smiled as she figured out he friend's plan.

"Is it Predacons?" the Maximal said back, making the Blonde man shake his head in return and point over to the explosive device.

"No, but they have planted a bomb here that we cannot defuse or move."

"But I can." the Primal replied as he crawled through the open doorway and into the Shuttle-Bay.

"Right and since you don't need to breath oxygen, we will vacate the room and open up the bay doors so that you can throw the bomb into space…." he then said, before suddenly the ship shook again and cut him off mid sentence.

"The enemy ship has just pulled away from us." Jetstorm spoke back through the com-link.

"..Good, so as I was saying…Jetstorm, once the device explodes you will activate the stealth mode to fool the enemy into thinking we have been destroyed." Quickstrike then finished, gaining nods from everyone.

"Quite the plan you have there." Nightracer replied.

"Well lets get started." the Blonde Bot said back as he motioned everyone to follow him to the door way before tapping his com-link again.

"Orion, Liara you there?" he said but the only response was static as he made it to the exit and looked back at Onyx Primal, who nodded back before transforming into his dragon mode and grabbed the bomb in his jaws before pulling it free from the deck.

"Good luck." the Blonde Bot said before closing the door and moving over the to the control panel next to it as the others watched.

"You think this will work?" Grunt then asked but before Quickstrike or anyone else could answer, Jetstorm suddenly shouted down the com-link.

"They are firing a torpedo, hold on!"

And suddenly the Normandy was rocked by an explosion as the torpedo impacted another part of it, making the team lose their balance, also in the shuttle-bay Onyx too fall to the ground and dropped the bomb back onto the deck. His optics widened as he heard it make a strange noise after impacting on the ground, so he quickly grabbed it with his jaws again. Meanwhile outside the room, Quickstrike got back to his feet quickly, just as Shen looked at his holo-tool and gulped again.

"fifteen seconds!" he exclaimed as the Blonde Bot leaned against the panel and typed into it's keypad, before hitting the release button underneath. While inside the Shuttle-bay, Onyx Primal saw the landing ramp open up and expose the room to the vacuum of space with the atmosphere instantly starting to vacate that area of the ship. So the Maximal dug his claws into the deck and opened his jaws, letting go of the bomb and watched as it flew out of the ship but not before clipping the landing ramp on it's way out, which would have made the Primal bite his lip if he had one before transforming back into his Cybertronian mode.

"It's done!" he shouted into his com-link just before the atmosphere was completely sucked out of the exposed area as the ramp was nearly fully open. So Quickstrike immediately pressed the re-seal button to close and re-pressurize the cargo bay, while Shen tapped his com-link.

"Three, two, one…."

Suddenly the bomb exploded between the Normandy and the enemy ship and shielded it from Lockdown's view, though the energy and force of the blast damaged the Autobot ship and made everyone to lose their balance again. But Jetstorm was fully strapped into his chair and managed to activate the stealth mode which made the Normandy disappear seconds before the explosion dissipated to nothing.

"We are cloaked, though we have suffered more damage from being so close to the blast." the pilot replied, while Quickstrike helped Nightracer back onto her feet as Grunt did the same for Shen.

"But has it fooled Lockdown?" the Femme asked, earning an uncertain look from the Blonde Bot.

"We'll know if they open fire." he said back before everyone went quiet and waited for one of two outcomes, either Jetstorm would give the all clear or the ship would be destroyed by another volley of torpedoes. After what felt like an eternity, the pilot spoke again.

"The enemy ship has just left via a space-bridge, it worked." Jetstorm said, earning sighs of relief from everyone as Quickstrike put his hand to his ear.

"Orion….Liara, come in." he said into his com-link but again there was no answer, gaining a concerned look on his face which was shared by the others.

"Their on the crew deck right?" Nightracer asked, earning a nod from the Blonde Bot.

"Lets go then." she replied as he looked back at the others.

"Shen, head back to the CIC and help Jetstorm coordinate repairs. Grunt stay here and make sure Onyx is alright in the shuttle-bay." Quickstrike then said, earning a stare from the Krogan.

"Who put him in charge?"

The Blonde Bot though merely ignored him and gestured for Nightracer to follow, leaving Grunt with Shen.

"I don't want to get involved….so I will just head to the CIC." he said before walking off so that Grunt was the only one left, and he reluctantly looked over to see that the shuttle-bay had fully re-pressurized. So he opened the door and looked in to the Maximal staring back at him with a curious expression.

"So I guess it worked then." he said, earning a sigh from the Krogan.

A few minutes later and a hatch opened up in the floor of the crew deck, with both Quickstrike and Nightracer climbing out and looking around at the damaged corridor they had entered.

"Damn, look at this place. I hope they are alright." the Femme replied with a worried expression and tone, earning a similar look from the Blonde Bot as they began searching.

"Orion, Liara." they both took turns in shouting before spotting a force-field flickering just a head of them, so the pair moved toward it until the sight before them made Nightracer gasp in shock.

"No…" was all she could say as they stared through the force-field to see the entire section had a gaping hole going from one end of the corridor to the other, exposing the area to the vacuum of space.

"Surely they weren't here, but on some other part of the deck?" the Femme asked but when Quickstrike did not answer, she noticed he was looking in a certain place so did the same. What she saw made her eyes widen, as there in the center of the wrecked corridor was the Star-Saber, embedded into the metal deck.

"I will not believe they are dead?" the Blonde Bot then said with a hint defiance in his voice.

"This was where Jetstorm said that the enemy ship had locked onto us, so they forced their way on board here."

"You think they may have taken our friends, if so then why is the Star-Saber like that unless Orion left it so?" Nightracer asked while the Bot looked at the area with a thoughtful expression.

"What if they had tried to…but failed originally." he then said, earning a confused look from the Femme.

"I…what are you on about?"

"…whoever they are, Lockdown aside….they have space-bridge tech." Quickstrike added before tapping his com-link.

"Jet-storm you there?" he asked, hearing nothing but static for a moment before it finally cleared.

"Shen here, Jetstorm is back in the CIC helping some of the crew. So is Orion and Liara okay?" the Turian answered back.

"No, they are not here." the Blonde Bot replied, earning silence from Shen as Quickstrike looked over to Nightracer, seeing the worry in her face.

"You don't think…." the Turian began to say, only for the Autobot to cut him off.

"No I don't, so can you access the sensor logs during the attack from the cockpit for me?" the Bot replied.

"Yeah…..I guess, so what am I looking for?" the Turian said back.

"Check the external sensor logs for any ground-bridge activations outside of the ship."

"Looking at them now…..yes, there was a vortex just outside that area of the Normandy that you are in." Shen said back, gaining a nod from Quickstrike.

"Alright then, how are communications looking?"

"Our Communications are still operational." his friend replied.

"Good, Nightracer and I are on our way to the CIC now. See if you can get us contact with Autobot Intelligence and Matriarch Benezia." the Blonde Bot said back before deactivating his com-link and looking over to Nightracer, who was still staring at the Star-Saber.

"Come on Ni, there's no point standing around here." he said while placing a hand on her shoulder.

"But we can't just leave it here…" the Femme started to say, but the Bot cut her off.

"Well other than Orion, none of us can even move it. Plus it is in a vacuum right now, it's not going anywhere." he replied, earning a nod from Nightracer before she looked out of the gapping hole in the hull at stars outside.

"I just hope they are alright."

"So so I Ni, so do I." Quickstrike said back before the pair started walking back the way they came.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

In a system on the edge of the galaxy, a space-bridge vortex opened up and Lockdown's ship came through back into normal space. It's dark grey hull did not even reflect the light of the near by star as it flew towards a light green planet with heavy cloud cover. In the ship's CIC, Lockdown sat in the Commander's chair and watched as the planet appeared on the holo-screen while Hock watched at his side.

"Send the signal." he said, earning a nod from the Mech at the com station as it pressed a key combination into it's holo-interface.

"Signal sent." it replied, then a moment passed before a beeping could be heard from the Com station.

"Signal acknowledged, we are allowed to approach and land."

"Very well, lock onto the base's beacon and take us down." the Assassin then said to the Mech pilot, and then the ship descended into the planet's atmosphere.

"Where exactly are we?" Hock asked as the ship started to vibrate and shake around them, earning a worrying look from the weapon's dealer. But Lockdown just looked relaxed as he sat in his chair.

"Relax Hock, my ship can take a little turbulence." he said back before a lightning bolt struck the ship, causing it to rock which made Lockdown's new comrade grab at the arm of his chair to keep himself from falling over.

"You didn't answer my question Lockdown, where are we?" Hock replied with anger in his voice, gaining a smile from the former Decepticon.

"Well since you are now part of the organisation, I suppose you should know. This planet is Hagalaz, quite the hiding place wouldn't you agree."

"Hagalaz…" the Human replied as he looked out at the storm raging around them on the view-screen.

"It is known as a garden world, but is deemed too dangerous for colonisation because of it's highly volatile atmosphere…correct?"

"Yes, you see it has a far slower rotational period compared to planets like Earth or Thessia…ninety eight hours I believe. So this leaves the planet pretty much boiling during the daylight hours and then as soon as the sun goes down, the planet's surface snap freezes a few minutes later. It's at this point that highly volatile storms are created…of which we are through now." Lockdown replied which made Hock nod back as he listened with a curious expression.

"And the Shadow Broker's base is in this?"

"That is correct, though it is more of a ship and it follows the sunset, so it remains completely hidden in this storm system. So the only way to find it is to have access to it's beacon's frequency, because otherwise it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack…during a hurricane as you Humans say." the Assassin replied before noticing a shape in the storm clouds ahead of them.

"And there it is." he then said, making Hock look at the view-screen as the Shadow Broker's ship appeared before them. The vessel had a giant reflective shield on the side that was facing the setting sun, while the rest of the ship which looked like a battle cruiser.

"Impressive." Hock said as he looked at the giant ship, noticing that the vessel was getting it by multiple lightning strikes as the storm raged around it.

"I am no expert on ships you know, but it must be a pain to try to keep this ship from getting too damaged by the constant energy strikes it must receive?"

"Not at all since the entire ship except its heat shield, is covered in lightning rods which then draw the excess energy into capacitors that help power the ship. So the storm system not only hides the Shadow Broker, but also powers his vessel too." Lockdown said as he had the view-screen zoom in on the ship's hull, showing the lightning rods to Hock.

"A very efficient design, I must say." he replied before one of the Mechs turned to the Assassin.

"Commander, we have permission to dock."

"Very well, take us in with thrusters only." Lockdown said back as he and Hock watched.

Aboard the Shadow Broker's ship, Agent Zero watched from the landing-bay's control room while the arrow-head shaped vessel entered the large landing area, folding it's ventral and dorsal wings in as it extended it's landing struts just in time to touch the metal floor of the bay.

"I will go and welcome our guests." the Agent said to the Mech manning the control room's terminal before leaving the small room, just in time to see the ship's shuttle-bay ramp open up and reveal it's crew.

"Welcome back Lockdown." the female agent said, earning a nod from the Assassin as he walked down the ramp with Hock beside him.

"Thank you Agent Zero, the Shadow Broker will be pleased to know that our mission was a success." the former Decepticon replied while Hock stared back in confusion at the unknown female Agent, because she was still wearing her breather-helmet. This did not go unnoticed by her, as she turned her attention to him.

"I take it this is Donavon Hock." she said back before offering her hand to the arms dealer, who looked down at it before shaking it in his own.

"Yes and you are?" he asked in an inquisitive tone.

"Agent Zero." she replied, earning a smirk from the Human.

"Yes, that is your code name. But I make it a point to know who I am working with, so your name is….?"

"Agent Zero, that is all you need to know at this time." the female replied before pulling her hand away and stared back with narrowed eyes through the visor of her helmet.

"Okay.." Lockdown then said, making both Hock and Zero look at him before noticing the two mobile berths being moved down the ramp towards them. The female Agent saw that one carried an unconscious Liara T'Soni, while the other had a blue haired man strapped onto it which made her walk over to his side.

"I know this man, he was…." she began to say, earning Hock's attention before Lockdown stepped in.

"..this is Orion Darby, Autobot Spectre and son of Jackson Prime. You obviously recognise him from his profile." the former-Decepticon said to the female Agent with a knowing look, while Hock raised an eyebrow at the pair as they turned their backs to him.

"Hock doesn't need to know that you were there when the Autobots crashed his party to rescue the Asari here…does he," he whispered to her, gaining a nod from Zero.

"Yes, of course. I just recall this particular Autobot being quite the annoyance to my mission then." she whispered back before her attention was caught by the Drell that stood behind both berths.

"Thane, I was not aware that you had been assigned to this mission." Zero said but before the Drell could respond, Lockdown beat him to it.

"I requested that he be put on my team, just on the off-chance that the forces under my command were not enough." he said before looking back at Thane.

"So how are 'our guests'?"

"They are both still unconscious, but we have healed any injuries that they had received during our mission." the Drell replied with a blank tone, gaining a nod from Zero.

"Good, though you could have just focused on the Asari. Since she was the only one that was supposed to be retrieved in the first place."

"So what should I do with the Autobot?" Thane asked back before looking down on the unconscious Bot.

"Have him put in the ship's detention area, we will let the Shadow Broker determine what happens to him." Lockdown replied, earning a nod from Agent Zero before her com-link activated.

"Excuse me." she said to the three before turning her back to them and receiving the call,

"Where do I go?" Hock then asked the Assassin, making him turn to the Human.

"One of the Mechs will take you to your quarters until the Shadow Broker is ready to see you." the former Decepticon said before gesturing to one of the nearby roBots.

"Please sir, if you will follow me." it then said, making the arms dealer follow it out of the Landing Bay as Thane took a step toward Lockdown.

"Since I have done everything asked of me as of late, maybe you can see if I can be allowed to see my son now?" the Drell asked.

"I do not know if that will be possible at this time Thane, you did after all fail to acquire the Asari the first time round." the former Decepticon replied.

"I was not the only one who failed in that task Lockdown…" Thane replied while gesturing to Agent Zero who was still on her com-link.

"…it has been several weeks since I joined this operation, which I only agreed too since the Shadow Broker promised to not only help protect my son from whoever killed my wife, but also discover the identity of her killer. But I have yet to have that evidence or see my son." the Drell replied with slight anger building in his voice, though Lockdown merely looked back calmly.

"I understand your frustration Thane, I do…..but there is nothing I can do at this time, as it is up to the Shadow Broker. Now can you take Orion Darby to the detention area please?" the Assassin replied, earning a reluctant nod from Thane, who then gestured to the Mech pushing Orion's berth to follow him out of the room. Agent Zero then deactivated her com-link and turned back to the former Decepticon.

"That was the Shadow Broker, he wants Dr T'Soni ready to meet him. But first he wants to see you in his sanctum." she said, gaining a surprise expression from the former Con before he nodded back.

"Very well, I will go see him immediately then." he replied before turning away from the Agent and leaving the room.

' _He wants to see me, why would that be?_  he thought as he entered the corridor and walked towards the ship's bow.

A few minutes later and the former Decepticon Assassin entered a large dimly lit room that had a sphere-like shape to it's structure, and a large power conduit running through it's center which was surrounded by large holo-screens. Lockdown looked down to the far end of the room and saw the silhouette of a large being standing there in what looked like m, as if waiting for him.

" **Lockdown, please come closer.** " a beastly and commanding voice spoke, which made Lockdown feel somewhat nervous. But he took a breath and did as he was told and walked through the room towards the shadowy large being, stopping next to the power conduit when he could see this person more clearly. For what he saw was an alien being that he recognised only too well, with it's large mouth and eight black eyes. For it's massive frame and primitive look. For it's species has a terrible reputation known throughout the galaxy, since it annihilated the former Citadel Council's first contact teams decades ago.

' _It's a Yahg, but how?_ ' he thought as the beast took a step towards him.

" **Did you complete your mission?** " the Shadow Broker asked in a very calm and conservative tone, which earned a quick nod from the Assassin in return.

"Yes sir, we retrieved the Asari and captured Orion Darby too while also destroying the Normandy as you ordered." he said back while trying not to show how confused he was at the Beast's behaviour.

' _How is it acting so sophisticated and calm, considering it's reputation? In fact how did 'it' become the Shadow Broker?_ '

But the Yahg activated his holo-tool and brought up a data-log on one of the large holo-screens.

"Is that so, then perhaps you can tell me how the Normandy managed to contact the Autobot Command only minutes ago?" he replied with a slither of anger in his voice while showing his sharp teeth.

"I do not understand sir, my crew and I witnessed the Normandy exploding before us." Lockdown said back in shock as he looked at the data flowing down the screen.

" **Well, an Autobot by the name of Quickstrike informed ISF Command of the attack on the Normandy before naming you as one of the attackers. He also told them that he believes you have taken Orion Darby and Liara T'Soni as captives, this is not looking good for you Lockdown.** " the Broker replied again.

"Sir, I….can't really…come up with a good…excuse." the former Decepticon said back in a worried and confused tone, which earned a low growl from the Beast.

" **If you could then I would kill you where you stand, because I can not stand liars. I prefer the truth, that is why I am the most powerful information Broker in the galaxy. Lies and deceit don't go well in this business.** "

"I understand sir, so what now?" Lockdown asked as if he was holding his breath at how the Shadow Broker would respond.

" **Since you were truthful with me, and because this is the only time you have failed…..I am willing to give you another chance…..but only one chance, understand?** " he replied, gaining a nod from the Assassin.

"Yes, thank you sir. I will not fail you again."

" **You better not, now go.** " the Beast replied before turning his back to the former Con, who was about to move when he suddenly looked back at his employer.

"Sir, if I may ask. How did you find out about the Autobots?" he asked, regaining the Shadow Broker's attention as it looked back at him.

" **I have contacts in both the ISF Senate and Autobot Command, I am the Shadow Broker after all.** "

"Of course sir, but what about Quickstrike and the other Autobots?" Lockdown replied.

" **I have sent some of our forces to my contacts, they will have them deployed if the Autobots begin snooping where they shouldn't. Now go, I have another meeting to hold.** " the Broker said back, which made the former Decepticon nod in return before walking back to the room's exit.

"Of course sir." he said before reaching the door, which opened to reveal Agent Zero and the berth carrying a still unconscious Liara.

"Zero." Lockdown said as he passed them.

"Lockdown." the female replied before pushing the berth into the room as the door closed behind her.

" **Agent Zero, how is our 'guest'?** " the Yahg asked as the Agent stopped the berth just in front of it.

"Her injuries have been treated, but she is still unconscious. I was told by our medical Mechs that she should awaken soon." Zero replied, gaining a nod from the Broker.

" **Good, I have looked forward to this moment for a long time.** "

"I know, do you think she will join us…once she knows the truth?" the Agent asked with a curious look, which made the Beast look back at her with a determined expression.

" **For her sake, I hope so.** "

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

As the Normandy flew in orbit around a dead, crater covered planetoid in one of systems on the edge of galaxy. Nightracer entered the Communications room while Quickstrike deactivated the terminal before him and crossed his arms in frustration while turning around to the Femme.

"I take it by the look of you that it didn't go well?" she asked, gaining a nod from the Blonde Autobot as he sighed in return.

"I reported what had happened and who was responsible, but all Command could say was that they would pass our information to Autobot Intelligence, since they were more focused on dealing with the Predacons right now."

"So…..we are alone on this then?" Nightracer said back with a disheartened tone.

"No, we have been ordered back to join the seventh Autobot fleet in the Exodus cluster." the Bot replied, making the Femme's eyes widen in shock.

"But what about Orion and Liara, we can't just leave them to Lockdown and whoever he is working with." she said back with a defiant tone and expression, earning a nod from her friend.

"Hey, your preaching to the choir on that one. And I am sure the others would agree, so I am up for ignoring the order to return if you are." Quickstrike said back with a slight smile, earning a mirrored look from Nightracer in return.

"Sure why not, I'm certainly not willing to give up on our friends…." she said back before the Communications terminal began to beep, which made the pair look over to it with a curious expression.

"We're receiving a call?" the Femme stated with a confused tone, which made the Blonde Bot tap his com-link.

"Jetstorm, do you know anything about us receiving a transmission?"

"We are? Sorry, there is nothing on my system about it Quickstrike." the Pilot replied, which made Orion's cousin look down at the blinking light on the terminal with a thoughtful expression.

"Well, you better answer it before whoever it is gets tired of being ignored." Nightracer replied, making Quickstrike deactivate his com-link and place his hands over the terminal's surface, thus activating the holo-interface before connecting the call.

"This is Quickstrike of the Autobot Spectre vessel Normandy, who is this attempting contact?" he then said.

"Well that was certainly a very professional reply, and for me of people." a familiar female voice spoke, making Nightracer's eyes widen as she recognised it.

"Kasumi?" she said back before the holo-emitter behind the terminal activated and revealed the Autobot Informant and Thief.

"Hello Nightracer…and who is this?" she replied while looking at Quickstrike.

"This is Quickstrike, he is Orion's cousin." the Femme replied, gaining a nod from the Bot.

"I see, and where is Rodimus. He is still Commander of the Normandy…yes?" Kasumi asked in return.

"He was severely injured during our last engagement with the Predacons and is currently in our Medical Bay." Quickstrike replied, earning a worried and concerned look from the Thief.

"I see…. well I hope he recovers, he is a good man." she said back with a caring tone in her voice, which earned mirrored expressions from the pair.

"Yes….but now if I may ask, why have you contacted us Kasumi?" Nightracer asked.

"I was told to do so by Miranda Lawson, after she had heard about Lockdown's attack on your ship." Kasumi said back, gaining a curious look from Quickstrike.

"I only just contacted Autobot Command a few minutes ago, how did Commander Lawson hear about so quickly? Because I doubt our military leaders would have informed that fast."

"And you would be correct Quickstrike, lets just say that Miranda likes to know what is going on around her before anyone has the chance to tell her. Its her MECH training asserting itself. But either way, she knows that I am your best chance to find out where Lockdown and your friends are." the Thief replied with a confident expression.

"How is that?" Nightracer asked in return.

"Hello….professional Thief, lives in the criminal underworld. I would know where the best places to look would be." Kasumi said back with a slither of sarcasm in her voice, which made Nightracer tighten up a little.

"You don't have to remind me of that."

"Well, getting back on topic. Lockdown was quite the household name amongst Assassins and Mercenaries back in the day, when he suddenly just disappeared off the map. Only appearing for very short periods of time and it was rumoured that he had found himself a more permanent employer."

"Do you know who this 'employer' is?" the Blonde Bot then asked, making the female shake her head in return.

"No, but since whoever it is must be extremely secretive to keep themselves out of the public eye for so long. So they will be monitoring the entire galaxy for signs that their prized Assassin is being searched for, so we bait them into revealing themselves or at least someone who can lead us to them properly." Kasumi replied, earning a smile from Quickstrike and Nightracer.

"I like it, so where do we meet to set this trap?" the Femme said back.

"I will be in the city of Joughin on the planet Benning, I am sending you the coordinates now to meet me there. It is a more grimier section of the city where lowlifes and other unpleasant individuals like to congregate, and be sure to dress more incognito when you arrive, as the saying goes 'when in Rome..'." Kasumi replied while typing on her holo-tool.

"Do as the Romans do', Understood. We are on our way, Normandy out." Quickstrike said back before ending the transmission and making the holo-image of the Thief fade to nothing, he then turned back to Nightracer.

"As soon as we arrive at Benning, we will take a ground bridge down to the city a click away from Kasumi's coordinates. So inform Shen and Grunt that they need to suit up with us for this mission."

"Okay, will do. But there is one thing I want to ask before doing so." the Femme replied, gaining a nod from the Blonde Bot.

"Alright, what is it?"

"I know you contacted Autobot Command, but what of Matriarch Benezia? Did you tell her what has happened to her daughter?" Nightracer then asked, making Quickstrike shake his head in return.

"I tried, but I was told that she was not available at this time by her aide." he replied with a defeated tone to his voice.

"Surely you explained what had happened to Liara." the Femme said back with a disbelieving tone of her own.

"Her aide would not give me the time of day, she just repeated that Benezia was not available." the Bot replied, which made Nightracer sigh in return.

"Makes you wonder if the rumours of the Asari Matriarch's distrust of Autobots is true huh? She could be no more different to her Daughter could she."

"Yes, now lets work on getting both Orion and Liara back." Quickstrike replied, gaining a nod from the Femme.

"Yeah, I'll see you in the armoury with Shen and Grunt then." she said back before leaving the Communications room, as the Blonde Autobot tapped his com-link.

"Jetstorm, open a space-bridge vortex to Benning and activate our stealth mode before taking us through." he said as he then exited the room, with the door closing behind him.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

The sun was halfway through its descent behind the large skyscrapers of Joughin, the Capital city of the planet Benning. Quickstrike looked up at the large glass covered buildings which seemed like a miles away from where he was standing right now alongside Nightracer and Grunt, as the group made their way amongst the busy crowds of what was called the 'Flea trap Market'. It was a name that felt somewhat deserved as it looked nothing like the more wealthier part of the city where those sky scrapers were standing, since the buildings here were basically minimum standard living trailers no bigger than industrial shipping crates, which had then been stacked on top of each other.

The whole area had a bad vibe emanating from it as the Autobots walked through the streets, though no one could guess that the new arrivals were anything more than your basic mercenaries. Grunt was wearing basic Krogan combat armour with a brown rusted look to it, while Nightracer wore black leather jean-like Bottoms and matching coloured tank top with faded leather jacket over that. Quickstrike though wore black heavily worn jeans and faded red t-shirt under a long brownish red coat, a far cry from their usual high quality Autobot armour.

"Anyone spot Kasumi yet?" Grunt asked with an annoyed tone to his voice as another person bumped into him as he walked past, earning a growl from he Krogan.

"I swear if another person walks in my way or bumps into me again, I will shoot them." he added, making both Quickstrike and Nightracer roll their eyes in response.

"Cool it Grunt, we are all getting bumped around here. Its not just you." the Blonde Bot replied as he looked through the thick haze of people surrounding them, while Nightracer looked at her holo-tool.

"We are in a ten metre radius of the coordinates Kasumi gave us, but where is she?" the Femme said with a confused tone as she looked up and around her, while the Bot tapped his com-link as Grunt pushed away another civilian who had accidentally bumped into him.

"Don't make me…." the Krogan spat back.

Meanwhile on one of the higher makeshift balconies, Shen was in a kneeling position as he watched the crowds in the street below with his sniper rifle.

"Shen, can you see Kasumi from your vantage point?" Quickstrike's voice suddenly came through on the Turian's com-link.

"Let me see…" he replied as he scanned the area through the weapon's scope, looking at every face down there until he came upon his team mates.

"No, don't see any….wait." he added before spotting a shimmer of light behind the Blonde Bot, which suddenly revealed the female Thief.

"…she's behind you." he added with an impressed tone in his voice as he saw Quickstrike turn around to come face to face with Kasumi.

"Well you don't stick out too much now do you." the Thief said with a sarcastic tone, earning annoyed looks from the Autobots.

"You were with us the whole time weren't you?" Nightracer said back, gaining a nod from Kasumi.

"I have been shadowing your group since you entered this district so I could see how well you blend in, and by the fact that you have several undesirables eyeing your group at this very moment shows that you stick out like a sore thumb." she replied with a stern expression.

"Well we are sort of in a hurry Kasumi, with wanting to find our friends. We don't have the luxury of playing it slow and safe, so why don't we just get on with it already." the Femme said back before the group's com-links activated simultaneously.

"Guys, you have a group of six….maybe seven individuals heading right for you from the North." Shen suddenly said, making Quickstrike look over his shoulder and spot the gathering of Humans, Vorcha and Turians moving toward them through the crowds.

"Kasumi's right, lets get off the streets and take care of this group before we continue any further." he said before looking back at the thief.

"Conceal yourself Kasumi, this shouldn't take long." the Bot added, gaining a nod as she reactivated her cloak.

"Head for the alleyway several metres south of here…"Kasumi then said as she pointed to the alley's entrance just away from the group just before disappearing from sight before them.

"Let's go." Nightracer said as the trio made their way through the oncoming crowds and entered the smaller street, being quickly followed by the others that blocked off the way they had came.

"Are you people lost, cause we could help you." a slimy sounding voice called back, which made Quickstrike and his friends turn round to face the other group, who all looked like common thieves with their dirty and ragged looking clothes.

"We…just took a wrong turn." the Blonde Bot replied while standing there with a casual demeanour. But the lead Human, who had a shaven head and scar over his left eye looked at Quickstrike and smiled, revealing his dirty teeth.

"But you are not from around these parts, are you?" he asked as his friends stood around the Autobots, looking at both Grunt and Nightracer….especially at the latter.

"We have watched you for a while now…" he said as he walked up to the Blonde Bot and placed a hand on his shoulder, gaining a knowing stare from Quickstrike.

"…You may dress like us, but you are certainly not like us."

"What are you staring at?" Nightracer said to the Turian standing next to her, after noticing that he had leered at her. Which only made the Turian smile back, making the Femme feel sick to her stomach. But the main attention of the group was on Quickstrike as the lead Human tightened his grip on the Bot's shoulder while equipping his knife, with the others readying their own.

"Give us all the valuables you have on you, and this won't have to get nasty." he said in a very casual way, making the Blonde Bot smile back.

' _Knifes are you kidding._ ' he thought before noticing a slight shimmer appear behind the Vorcha at the back of the group, making his smile widen.

"What?" the lead Human asked with a confused tone when suddenly the Vorcha screamed out in pain, making the leader look back to see an invisible force beat down his friend.

"What?…" he started to say before Quickstrike grabbed at the guy's arm that was still on his shoulder, quickly pulling it off and twisting it. This made the Human grimace while Grunt and Nightracer made short work of the thieves standing next to them. The Blonde Bot then looked down at the man he was now holding in an arm lock, who looked back with a blend of anger and confusion.

"You picked on the wrong people." the Autobot then said before punching the Leader hard in the face wit his free hand, knocking him out cold. He then looked round to see the Human's friends all in the same condition as the Krogan and Femme stood over them, before looking at the alley's entrance just as Kasumi uncloaked before him.

"Nicely done, so lets going shall we." she said while gesturing to the group to follow her.

"So where are we going?" Nightracer asked as the group exited the alleyway and rejoined the busy crowds, who had not even noticed the scuffle which transpired nearby.

"There is a local bar nearby, a real dive compared to most similar places around here. But it can be a good source of information, for those with the right credentials." the Thief replied as she led them through the streets, while Shen followed very the balconies and rooftops overhead.

After walking down several similar looking streets, the group entered a seedy looking bar that was bustling with people not unlike the ones that they had encountered in the alley earlier.

"You think we can get something here?" Quickstrike asked with an unconvinced tone, earning a nod from Kasumi.

"Trust me, this will work. Now be ready for anything." she said before walking over to a table occupied by Humans, Batarians, Vorcha and Turians who had all but one of it's seats filled, as those sitting there had just begun a game of poker. So the Thief pulled out the remaining chair and sat herself down amongst them, earning confused looks from all.

"What are you doing Kasumi?" a Batarian sitting opposite her asked as Kasumi took the deck of cards from the Human beside her and began shuffling them.

"I just saw that you had a spare seat and thought I might join in." she replied while the rest of table looked at her with a distrusting stare.

"Your well known for cheating whenever you play a game of poker here Kasumi, so why the hell would we want you to join this game." the Batarian sneered back earning nods from everyone else before noticing Quickstrike, Nightracer and Grunt all watching them.

"Who are they, friends of yours?"

The Thief glanced over to her acquaintances and nodded in return.

"Yes they are, you see my friends and I are looking for someone…" she answered before placing the deck back in front of the Human beside her and staring back at the Batarian.

"…so if I can't join your game, perhaps you can tell us if you have seen this person we are looking for?"

The men all looked at each other before the lead Batarian narrowed all four of his eyes at Kasumi.

"That will depend on who it is your looking for?"

"…we are looking for Lockdown." she then said casually, earning wide eyed stares from everyone at the table he, as the whole room then went quiet at the mention of that name.

"Well that is someone we have not seen for a long time." the Batarian replied, as Nightracer noticed a black haired Human in mercenary combat armour suddenly look over at the group suspiciously along with the others around him.

"Orion, at my ten o'clock." the Femme whispered, making the Blonde Bot glance over to see the man slowly get to his feet with his friends.

"I see them." he replied while inconspicuously moving his hand down to his holstered pistol as he returned his attention to Kasumi.

"So don't I get an answer to that question?" she asked, feeling the dagger like stares everyone around the table was giving her at that very moment.

"I think you should leave Kasumi, we only wanted to have nice friendly game of poker here." the Batarian replied before noticing the same black haired Human and his group equipped their weapons and slowly aimed them at the Thief's friends.

"You have a tendency of bringing trouble with you." he answered back, earning a curious look from Kasumi who noticed the Batarian's attention drifting away to her right.

' _I hope you are ready guys?_ ' she thought as she took a breath, knowing exactly what was about to happen…when suddenly.

"Have you people ever heard of what curiosity did to the cat?" a unfamiliar voice suddenly spoke, making Orion and the Autobots suddenly turn round with their weapons ready and aimed at the others.

"What's a Cat? I don't get it." Grunt replied with a confused tone as the Femme and Bot ignored him.

"Looks like we have ourselves a little Mexican stand-off." Nightracer observed as the entire room went quiet, while the rest of the customers got up and slowly backed up towards the room's walls.

"Drop your weapons." Quickstrike ordered as Kasumi shrugged at the Batarian before suddenly disappearing in front of him and the other poker players, earning confused looks from them as they returned their attention to her friends.

"I told you she was trouble." the Human player then said.

But this was ignored by everyone else as their attention stayed with the Autobots and their stand off against their unknown adversaries.

"Where did she go?" the black haired man then said as he noticed her disappear, but before anyone could say something back. Suddenly one of his men was electrocuted from behind by an unseen force, making him and the others look back in shock.

"What…that….not compute!" he said back in a confused tone, earning a curious look from Quickstrike as Kasumi suddenly reappeared behind the leader and electrocuted him with her holo-tool before pulling him to the ground, leaving the rest of the men open to attack.

"Now!" the Blonde Bot shouted before he and his friends opened fire and riddled the other men with bullets, which made them all look on in surprise and confusion as all the enemies body's began jerking awkwardly with electric bolts flowing around them before falling to the ground.

"Their roBots?" Nightracer said in disbelief as Kasumi knelt beside the Leader and looked up at the team.

"I had no idea, I was merely trying to apprehend him for us to question, I had no idea that he and the others were Mechs."

As the Autobots surrounded the Thief and the disabled Leader Mech, everyone in the place except for the Hanar-Barman left in a quiet but quick fashion. The jellyfish just sunk back down behind the bar.

"They look to life-like to be Mechs." Grunt said back, earning a nod from the Femme while Quickstrike activated his holo-tool and took a scan of the body.

"No, Kasumi's right. it's a Mech, but a real advanced one. Still….I have no idea who sent it and the other ones."

"I might….I mean there is a rumour that a particular person likes to use Mechs as soldiers but…" Kasumi began to say before Grunt glanced through the windows of the building, his eyes widening at what he could see.

"Everybody down!" he then shouted before the enter room was flooded with gun fire, shattering the windows and showering the team with glass as they all dived to the floor. But the attack did not stop as outside in the street there were several dozen Mechs firing their weapons into the building, hoping to eliminate the Autobot team in one foul swoop.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

"I believe she is coming to." a somewhat familiar voice spoke as Liara felt herself slowly regain consciousness, opening her eyes to see the metallic curved ceiling above her.

' _Where am I?_ ' she started to think before it all came back to her, making her rise up into a sitting position quickly as her thoughts filled with only one thought.

"Orion!" she shouted before looking down at her surroundings and discovering that she was sitting on a berth in a large room with a spherical design to it, with a bright glowing power conduit in it's center and being orbited by large blue holo-screens.

"Orion?" Liara asked again, as she found that her lover was nowhere to be found in her immediate area. But before the Asari could move to look for her Autobot, her attention was caught by a female soldier walking over to her side whilst wearing blue and white armour. And though the person's face was covered by a breather helmet, that didn't stop Liara recognising her.

"Agent Zero!" the Asari spat as she quickly got off the berth and clenched her hands into fists, which began to glow with biotic energy.

"It's been a while Miss T'Soni." the Agent replied in her disguised voice, though Liara just narrowed her eyes at her would be adversary.

"Where is Orion?"

"Your friend is in one of our Detention cells, and will remain there….and unharmed as long as you behave yourself. So don't do anything foolish now." Zero said back in a firm tone, which made the Asari stare back with disdain before cooling down her biotics.

"What do you want?" she said back, not attempting to hide the anger in her voice.

"My employer and mentor wishes to meet you, which was the same reason I was sent for you the first time." the Agent replied.

"And just who is it that wants to meet me?" Liara asked, while crossing her arms over her chest, not even budging a little in the anger she was feeling right now.

"….The Shadow Broker." Zero replied before pointing to the area behind the Asari, making her turn round to see a large creature walking towards her.

' _By the Goddess!_ ' she thought while recognising it's species, which seemed impossible considering it's reputation.

"The Shadow Broker's a Yahg, that's impossible!" she said as the larger being stopped in front of the Asari and looked down at her.

" **It is not im** possible…'Little Wing'." the Broker replied as his voice changed from heavy and monstrous to that of feminine and wise. It was a voice that Liara recognised even quicker than she had with Agent Zero, for it was a voice of someone she had known all her life. Her eyes widened as she stood there in complete shock as the Yahg suddenly began to glow, revealing itself to be nothing more than a holo-image before fading to nothing and revealing an Asari standing in it's place. This female was wearing a black formal-like dress, and her skin tone was the same shade of blue as Liara's.

"…Mother!…." she gasped in shock as she looked upon Matriarch Benezia, who smiled back at her.

"…you're the..." Liara continued, only for the older Asari to cut her off.

"Yes, Liara. I am the Shadow Broker."

 


	35. Chapter 35

Back on Benning, the gunfire barrage from the Mechs continued to devastate the building that Quickstrike, Nightracer, Grunt and Kasumi was hiding in, using it for cover while bullets flew over their heads.

"We are pretty much pinned down here and since whoever is attacking us has yet to stop, we can't even get a chance to return fire." Nightracer shouted over the gun fire, gaining a nod from Quickstrike who then noticed Kasumi looking over the body of the human looking Mech with her holo-tool. But before he could say something, a grenade was thrown into the room, landing between him and Grunt.

"Son of a.." Grunt spat before grabbing the explosive and throwing back out from where he was lying, with an explosion soon following in the street.

"Thanks Grunt, that was a close one." the Blonde Bot said back appreciatively, gaining a nod from the Krogan.

"Don't mention it, but where is She….." he started to say back before a gunshot was suddenly heard outside, followed by a metallic body hitting the ground.

"Sorry I was late guys." Shen's voice suddenly came through on their com-links, earning a sigh from Nightracer.

"Better late than never, now can you help thin the herd out there?" the Femme said back.

"Already on it." the Turian replied before another two gunshots were heard, with another sound of bodies hitting the floor, Grunt and Nightracer then immediately got up into kneeling positions and peeked out of the shattered window to see that the Mechs attention was now diverted between them and Shen.

"Lets do this." the Femme said, earning a nod from the Krogan as they both returned fire and dropped two more of the enemy Mechs. Quickstrike meanwhile returned his attention to Kasumi.

"What have you found? And how can you concentrate while this is going on?" he asked loudly with a curious expression, gaining a smile from the Thief.

"Grace under pressure Quickstrike, it comes with being a professional Thief. But I think I may have over done it here." she replied.

"What do you mean?" the Bot said back with an inquisitive tone.

"My electro-shock seems to have completely shut down it's systems, meaning I can't gain access to its memory core." the Thief replied as the Blonde Bot activated his own holo-tool.

"Don't worry about that, because if we can get it's communication sub-system back to the Normandy, then we should be able to use our computers to study it's com-traffic and discover the source of it's orders."

"That certainly sounds like a plan." Kasumi said back with a smile, while Quickstrike deactivated his holo-tool and grabbed the Mech's head.

"It's communication sub-system is located under it's memory core, so…" he added before ripping the head from the body, earning a shocked look from the Thief.

"…we only need this part." he added with a smile as he tucked the head under his right arm while equipping his pistol with his left hand.

"Time to get out of here." he then said before peeking out over the cover to see Shen under siege via gunfire from the remaining Mechs in the street, managing to blow the head off one of them before taking cover.

"Guys, time for you to help me now." he then said with an aggravated tone over the com-link.

"Time to change your sniping position Shen, make the call and we will cover you." Quickstrike replied before the trio then fired their guns at the enemies, pulling their attention away from the Turian and back to them. The Autobots immediately retook cover as the Mechs opened fire on them again, the robots not noticing the green flash of light coming from the balcony that Shen had been located.

"Okay, now what?" Kasumi asked as she blew the arms and head off one of the Mechs with her pistol, earning a smile from the Bot.

"..Watch." he said before suddenly another Mech went down from a sniper shot, though this came from another direction up above them. The enemy robots suddenly looked up again as suddenly another one was shot dead.

"Wait where is he?" the Thief asked with a confused tone, though it did not stop her from shooting another Mech in the back whilst speaking, the Blonde Autobot just gestured to the tops of the buildings around them. So Kasumi looked up to see the Turian taking down another enemy before disappearing in a flash of green light, only for him to appear on a building top across the street and fire again.

"What the?" she replied.

"Before came down to the planet's surface, the Normandy scanned this area of the city to which your coordinates are a part of and Shen picked a number of spots on the roof-tops that would make good sniping locales." Nightracer said back before returning fire to the few remaining Mechs outside, while Quickstrike looked back at the Thief.

"Once we knew exactly where we would be going with you, Shen would have the Normandy activate the Ground-bridge when he needed it and transport him to the next spot in this area…..as you can see him doing now." he added.

"Impressive." she replied before the Turian spoke over the com-link again, just in time with his killing of the last Mech, only a split second after Grunt and Nightracer shot down their respective targets.

"Okay guys, time to go." he said before the group stepped out of the heavily damaged building and into a street, which was full of smouldering Mech corpses.

"That's a lot of scrap metal." Nightracer commented, earning a smile from the Krogan standing beside her.

"Yeah, I liked it." he replied while cocking his shotgun, but Quickstrike looked towards the adjourning street as something caught his eyes.

"…guys, we have more incoming." Shen's voice came through on the com-link.

"Yeah, I see them…..everyone run!" the Blonde Bot shouted back to the others as the Turian began firing down at the oncoming horde of robots, which opened fire on the group the moment their singular optics saw them.

The Autobots ran down the street whilst returning fire on the enemy force pursuing them, as numerous civilians ran for cover of the buildings nearby.

"Shen, return to the Normandy and have them open a ground bridge for us now!" Quickstrike ordered through his com-link.

"Will do!" the Turian replied before a green flash lit up the area where he was and quickly disappeared just as the team ran into the district's square, a large open area with little cover except for some benches and bins.

"Take cover." Nightracer shouted back as they dived behind the nearest bench, while the Mechs flooded into the area.

"I would really like top know who it is that is after us." the Femme added as they opened fire on the enemy drones, making the ones at the front of the attack topple like dominoes. Quickstrike fired at the Mechs, shooting another through it's chest before noticing a red pulsing light on his pistol.

"My gun is overheating." he said, gaining a nod from Kasumi and Nightracer.

"Mine too, how much longer unti….." the Femme started to say before the bright green vortex of a ground-bridge opened up behind the team.

"Kasumi, take this head and go. We'll cover you." the Blonde Bot said as he handed the Mech's head to the Thief.

"Okay." she replied before he turned his attention back to the attacking robots.

"Covering fire!" he shouted before he and his friends opened fire simultaneously on the Mechs, killing several in a row as Kasumi ran from them and dived into the vortex.

"She's through guys, your turn." Shen's voice spoke over the open com-link, as Quickstrike glanced at his friends.

"Lets go together, Now!" he said as they stood up and backed towards the ground-bridge, maintaining fire on the Mechs which were continuing to pursue them despite many of their number being shot down. As the trio got within a few metres of the vortex, Nightracer turned and ran through the vortex, and as Quickstrike and Grunt were about to do the same, the Krogan was suddenly hit in the side by two shots from the Mech nearest to them, the shots going straight through his body and spilling blood onto the floor behind him.

"Fuck!" he shouted in anger as he turned his shotgun and blew the head off the one responsible before falling to his knees, his anger taking over as he saw red and fired his weapon at the other enemies.

"Grunt!" Quickstrike shouted before he equipped and threw a smoke grenade into the Mechs, surrounding the robots in a thick fog as he went to pick the injured Krogan up.

"What the hell are you doing? Get out of here!" Grunt spat back whilst pushing the confused Bot away.

"I'm not leaving anyone behind, not this time." he replied defiantly as he grabbed the Krogan and pulled him to his feet.

"We go together, now move!" he added before pulling his team mate towards the swirling portal behind them, just as the Mechs found their way through the dissipating smoke and regaining their focus on the two.

' _They will be on us before Quickstrike can get me through the Ground-bridge._ ' the Krogan thought as he accepted what he had to do.

"No, I'm staying and your going….Now get out of here!" he spat while breaking free and pushing the Blonde Bot towards the ground-bridge, making Quickstrike stumble backwards before losing his footing and falling into the vortex.

"I've got this!" he then said with the com-link still active before turning around to see the Mechs moving around him, with others heading for the vortex.

"Close the Ground-Bridge!" he shouted before using all his remaining strength and forcing his aching body into one last fight, as he pounced at the enemy robots. Shooting the head off one with his last shot before ramming the weapon into the head of another, while the ground-bridge closed behind him before the Mechs could enter it. This made them turn on the Krogan who was tearing through the enemy force, but they could not use their rifles since he was too close so instead surrounded him and tried to beat him down into submission.

But Grunt would not yield as he continued to fight back, smashing through each and every Mech he could, with his bare hands or whatever he could get his hands on, be it the Mech's own weapons or body parts that he ripped off. His anger and rage was the only fuel his body needed, even if it was still draining out of his body through his wound. But his team mates on the Normandy could only listen to his fight on the intercom as the com-link connection to him was still active. Everyone remained quiet as his yells and grunts and punches could be heard until suddenly a large scuffle was heard and it all went quiet, making the entire team look to the ground in respect before Grunt spoke one last time.

"That….was…a good….fight….." he said before the com-link deactivated and the room was again in silence, everyone stayed that way for a while longer as they paid respects to their friend's sacrifice. Then a moment later Quickstrike looked up at Kasumi who was still holding the Mech's head in her hands.

"Lets get that to the computer lab and begin analysing it's data-core, We still have to find Orion and Liara. So lets not make Grunt's sacrifice was not in vain." the Blonde bot said, gaining nods from the team before they all walked out of the room together.

"Jetstorm, get us out of here, and then await for our new coordinates" he then said into his com-link,

"Alright Quickstrike, we are on the move." the pilot replied, before the ship whilst under cloak, opened a space bridge portal and left Benning space. While back on the planet's surface, the remaining Mechs stood around the dead body of Grunt. They were staring at him as if confused, for on the Krogan's relaxed and lifeless face was a smile.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile Liara stood in front of Benezia, completely in shock at the revelation that had been thrust upon her.

"Mother…., how?" was all the Asari could say, gaining a nod from the Matriarch who walked over to her side.

"How did I become the head of the largest private intelligence organisation in the galaxy, it is as the saying goes….a long story." she replied as she gave her daughter a caring and reassuring smile.

"But what is important is that you are safe now, here with me." she added, though Liara still looked confused and pulled away from her Mother slightly.

"What is going on here Mother? I want to know how and why you came to be here." the younger Asari replied with a slightly defiant tone, earning a frustrated look from Benezia.

"Have you forgotten who you are speaking to Liara, or did you get that tone from your Autobot friends?" she replied as her tone became more cold, but Liara could not help but notice the hostility in her Mother's voice when she mentioned her friends.

"Forgive me Mother but I am not a little girl any more, stop holding back on me. I want to know everything."

"Very well, you are my daughter after all. I was going to tell you all this later, but if you want to know now, then so be it. I only ask that you keep an open mind with everything that I am going to reveal to you, because after this I will be asking you to make a choice." the Matriarch replied, earning a knowing look from Liara.

"I have always kept an open mind just as you taught me Mother, that is why I was such a good archaeologist." she said, gaining a smile from Benezia.

"Of course, so…" the Matriarch said as she activated her holo-tool and brought one of the large holo-screens above them to life.

"…as you well know, the Reapers before their defeat had left our people in a severely weakened state. No thanks to the Autobot/Human Alliance, who left us at the mercy of those machines. We received no help from to get our civilians out of harms way, and so lost many to the Reapers." she said as the holo-screen began playing camera footage from the battle of Thessia. Liara looked up at it, memories began racing through her mind as she remembered those days. But she shook her head in return and stared at her Mother who just looked back with an aggravated expression.

"I can tell by the look on your face what your next words are going to be, so do us both a favour and just don't. For I know you took part in the evacuation of refugees from Thessia, and that you saw the exact things I am talking about." Benezia added, stopping the younger Asari before she could say anything.

' _But there could be no help Mother, for everyone were under siege by the Reapers at that time. Why can't you see this?_ ' Liara thought as the Matriarch continued.

"It was then that I realised the Cybertronians and their Human followers would always put themselves before anyone else, I even saw that after the war when the Inter-Stellar Federation was formed, going as far as to plead with the rest of the Matriarch Council not to accept membership. But they ignored my warnings and accepted, for they had been broken by the Reapers and would do anything to stop our people from disappearing into obscurity….us, the Asari! Who once were the most powerful species in the galaxy, as it was we who had rediscovered the Citadel and founded the original Council or our cycle. We were like gods compared to the other races, younger than our own who looked to us for guidance." she said while looking at her daughter with an expression which begged for understanding, but could not see any in her eyes.

"You do not understand Liara, for you have not lived for as long as I have. I am nearly one thousand years old, and to see our people fall so far from what once made us great, it is heartbreaking. And to have not one but two unworthy species now standing over us, one which fell into a self-destructive pattern of civil war and another that was uplifted well before their time, and this I will not stand for. That is why I decided to find a way to ascend the Asari back to our rightful place, one that required no so called help and support from Earth or the former Cybertron." Benezia added before using her holo-tool to deactivate the current holo-screen, making Liara look over to Agent Zero.

"So what's her story in this?"

"She is in fact the one who should be thanked for how things have turned out for us Liara, because Zero was the person who put me in the direction of the one who was the Shadow Broker before me." the Matriarch replied before nodding at the Agent.

"Time to take off the helmet and reveal yourself to my Daughter."

"Zero acknowledged this and removed her helmet, earning a wide eyed look from Liara as it was an Asari who's identity was hidden behind the helmet, and one that she recognised.

"Tela Vasir, I remember you were one of the few Council Spectres who were allowed into the newly christened Autobot Spectres." the younger Asari said back, earning a smirk from the other Asari.

"That's correct, and I regret ever making that damned decision." she replied before looking over to Benezia.

"Luckily for me though, I met your Mother."

"And how did that happen?" Liara asked in a curious tone.

"I was to protect Lady Benezia while the evacuation of Thessia was under way, but we came under attack by Banshees and it was only because of your Mother that we got out of there alive. She saved my life, and I was eternally grateful for that." the Agent added as she smiled at the Matriarch.

"After the war, we became good friends as we discovered that we shared similar views on our people and the growing situation with the Cybertronians and Humans." Benezia said back and returned the smile, while Liara stood between them and listened.

"And that is when I shared a secret with Benezia, one that spawned a glimmer of hope for our people, even if they would not know it." Vasir added.

"And that secret would be?" the youngest Asari in the room then asked.

"At that moment of time, Vasir was working for both the Autobots and the Shadow Broker….she was a double agent." the Matriarch replied, earning another surprised expression from Liara as she stared at the Asari Agent, you merely smiled back at her.

"I know what your thinking, that I was betraying the very principles that I was bound to as an Autobot Spectre. But the truth is Liara, things were far more simple as a Council Spectre. You were given the freedom to do what you thought was right to achieve your goals….which were the preservation of the Citadel Council. There was no black and white, everything was grey. The Council never cared how you got the job done as long as it was done with surgical precision, and that none of it could be traced back to them." Vasir continued while using her holo-tool to bring up images and video footage of her work for the Broker up on the holo-screens.

"By collaborating with a known enemy of the Council, I gained a lot of good Intel that helped me end many threats to Asari and Council interests. Which gained me a fast track through the ranks of the Spectres, and all it cost me was a few assassination and espionage missions from the Shadow Broker in return."

"When Vasir told me of her work with the Shadow Broker, I saw a perfect opportunity to gain the power to change our fate….real power, which people still believe can be gained mainly through a force of arms. I mean look at the Autobots, the former Omega Syndicate or even the Predacons." Benezia added as the holo-screens played videos of all three factions above the three Asari.

"But 'knowledge is real power' as the saying goes, and 'he' or rather 'she' who controls that power, has the potential to change the face of the galaxy and beyond." the Matriarch continued while Liara looked on in disbelief at what she was hearing, but could not help but listen on.

"So you had Vasir kill the Shadow Broker so you could take his place?" the younger Asari said back, gaining a nod from her Mother.

"Well it was not easy as you just put it, as Vasir took a few years to secretly pinpoint the Broker's exact location….because he was quite paranoid. But in the end, we located him and I killed him right in this spot." her mother added as she gestured to the ground beneath her feet with a look of pure self-admiration, which Liara found frightening.

' _By the Goddess!_ ' she thought while the pair carried on, ignoring her shocked expression.

"Since the Broker never let anyone know his identity, it was so very easy to take his place." Benezia said while using her holo-tool to recreate the holo-image of the Yahg.

"In fact I am using the image of the previous Shadow Broker as a disguise." she added while gesturing to it.

"So that is how you became the Shadow Broker, but you have yet to say how you intend to restore the Asari back to their 'rightful place'." Liara then said, trying to contain the emotions she was feeling at that moment. This earned curious expressions from both Benezia and Vasir.

"Well it first involves ridding ourselves of the Cybertronian species, not an easy task. But as the Shadow Broker, I have discovered many secrets about our 'so called' allies." the Matriarch replied before using her holo-tool to bring up images of a derelict ship.

"One such secret was this ship, which the Human organisation 'Unit:E' kept under raps due to the wishes of their Autobot allies during the final years of their Civil war. You see Liara, this particular ship's crew were killed by a Cybonic plague, which was of Decepticon design." she added as it's molecular structure appeared on the screen, making her Daughter look at it with wide eyes.

"I found that one of Autobots back then, Optimus Prime had become infected with the plague and it was only via extraordinary means that his comrades were able to find the cure and administer it to their Leader before his spark was snuffed out. Now the Autobots with their Human allies later destroyed the infected ship and it's crew, ensuring that the plague would never again endanger a Cybertronian again. But what Optimus and his Human liaison, Agent Fowler did not know was that there were individuals in Unit:E that still did not fully trust their alien allies. And they wanted some insurance just in case the Autobots ever turned on them, so they kept a small amount of the virus. It's funny isn't it, the Humans and Cybetronians never looked anything other than perfect allies and friends to the rest of the Galaxy. So to find that there were those amongst Humanity, other than MECH of course who had the same misgivings about the Cybetronians as I do, which I find to be very enlightening. Wouldn't you agree Liara?" Benezia asked, earning a nod from Vasir. But the youngest Asari shook her head in response.

"No I do not Mother, but then again I already know that every species has members who are less savoury than the rest." she said back, earning yet another disappointed expression from the Matriarch. But before she could say something back, Liara asked another question.

"But how does a virus which I assume was created to only infect fully autonomous robotic life forms, possibly affect that the same species if they are now fully biological?"

Benezia smiled at the question, remembering how smart her Daughter really was despite her choices she had made so far in her short life.

"Well despite their closer physical appearance to Humans, Cybertronians still have the Cybernucleic Acid or CNA in their genetic makeup. And it is in this that the virus can be deployed…" the Matriarch added as she brought up footage showing lab work and Cybertronian test subjects.

"…, of course we had tinker with it to ensure that it would be as effective on the new Cybertronian form, so not to affect Humans."

Liara gave her Mother a knowing and curious look in return.

"Why are you making sure not to harm Humans, aren't they the enemy in your view?"

"They are…. but without their Autobot protectors, Humanity will be that much easier to manipulate."

"So you are going to infect the Cybertronian species with a virus that will effectively wipe them out, then what?" Liara asked, earning a look from Vasir before she glanced over to the Matriarch, earning a nod from her.

"Over the last twenty years your Mother and I have built an organisation with the military strength comparable to that of MECH, before they were dissolved and their resources merged into the Autobots. With the Cybertronians gone, I will temporally take on the role of the Shadow Broker and launch a campaign of fear and intimidation upon the Federation, exploiting the weaknesses that are abundant throughout it, causing its people to question its leadership. This will open up an opportunity for Benezia to step up and lead the Asari as they rescue the ISF from this threat, putting our people back in control of the galaxy...just as it was always supposed to be." the Agent added.

"No one outside of this room knows who the Shadow Broker is, so by giving the galaxy a phantom threat to focus on, we can manipulate the conflict to suit our needs and objectives. This plan cannot fail, we have taken precautions on everything." the Matriarch said back.

"And what about the Predacons, where do they come in with this plan of yours?" Liara asked with a curious tone.

"We were originally going to infect the Autobots, but now we can use the Predacons as the means to spread this plague through the Cybertronian species. And no one will question it, as they will think that the Predacons were simply carrying it themselves." Benezia replied.

"And how are you going to infect them, their forces are spread out amongst the galaxy?" the youngest Asari asked, which made her Mother activate a holo-screen which showed a large gathering of ships in one system.

"Give me some credit Liara, I have been monitoring the Predacons since they first appeared. And as of right now, they are currently massing their whole fleet around the planet Virmire, so we just have to send a small group of ships to attack and spread the plague. The Nemesis is the primary target, since it's crew are all Predacons."

"It does seem that you have everything thought out and planned..." Liara replied as she looked over the information on the screens above her, earning confident nods from both her Mother and Vasir before she the. Looked over with a thoughtful expression.

"...but I guess you're not telling me this just because your feeling generous."

Benezia gave her Daughter a reassuring smile as she stepped beside her.

"You are correct Liara, I have learnt to keep my cards close to my chest over the last twenty years, and don't make a habit of revealing them to just anyone. And I want you to join us." she replied, earning a surprised expression from Liara.

"You do?" she asked back, before returning her attention to the screens. As she did this, Benezia gave a nodding gesture to Vasir who then reequipped her helmet and walked out of the room, leaving Mother and Daughter alone.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

As Vasir walked down one of the many corridors of the massive ship before stopping next to a door and pressing a button on the panel beside it, which let out a chime sound. Within a moment the door opened, revealing it's occupant to be none other than Donavon Hock.

"Agent Zero, can I help you?" he asked with a curious tone.

"Have you found everything to be to your satisfaction?" the Agent said back.

"The accommodations are satisfactory, but when do I get an audience with the Shadow Broker?" the Human replied, a slight slither of annoyance was present in his voice.

"The Broker is in a meeting right now, but he wanted to know if you would like to have some face time with the man who led the Autobot team who took Liara T'Soni from your care? Surely you would like to have some time to 'thank' him for that?" Vasir asked with a curious tone, though with her helmet on and voice disguiser activated, this didn't sound that way to him. But he smiled in return, obviously understanding what she meant.

"Yes, I would very much like to meet him." he said back as his smile grew wider.

"Then by all means, show him your appreciation for his work. You will find him in the detention cells at this location." the Agent replied as she showed him a route on her holo-tool.

"I will have Kane meet you halfway, have fun." she said before turning away and walking back the way she came, just as Hock then left his quarters and headed in the opposite direction. The disguised Asari then turned a corner and came face to face with Lockdown.

"Zero, I thought you were in that meeting with the Shadow Broker and our Asari guest?" he asked with a puzzled expression.

"I am, but the Broker wished for me to offer an invitation to Hock to go and see our other guest." she replied.

"I see, so the Boss wants our new Weapons Dealer to keep himself entertained because his current meeting is taking longer than planned." the Assassin said back.

"It is not for you or me or any of us to question or analyse why the Shadow Broker does what he does, only that we follow his orders to the letter….surely you understand this?" the Agent replied with a harsh tone, earning a knowing look from Lockdown, as he remembered his past failure.

"Yes I do, only too well."

"Good, remember we were chosen because we are the best at what we do, so lets not give our Boss reason to believe otherwise." Zero said back, gaining a nod from the former Con.

"Of course…." he said before a curious expression appeared on his face, earning the attention of the disguised female.

"What?"

"There was something I forgot to mention to the Boss earlier, but Thane has been asking for his son again." Lockdown replied.

"And? Did you give him the same response that both the Broker and I have repeated in the past?" Zero said back, earning a nod from the Assassin.

"Yes I did."

"Then I do not see a problem. Remember his Son is the reason why he is working for us to begin with, that and that something which we shall remain mum about." she replied with a knowing tone to her disguised voice, to which Lockdown nodded again.

"Yes."

"Well then, if you will leave me be, as I have something else to do before returning to meeting." the Agent said back, before the former Decepticon walked away as she watched until sure that she was alone. Then Vasir entered the nearest room and closed the door behind her, before activating her holo-tool and bringing up the security footage from detention Cell.

"Come on, he should be there by now." she said while keeping her eyes on the screen and then as if on cue, the two Humans entered the room and walked over to the Blue haired man who was restrained to an upright berth and unable to move, whilst behind a force-field.

"Right on time, this ought to make good viewing." Vasir then said as a devious smile appeared on her lips.

 


	36. Chapter 36

 

Orion looked around at his surroundings as he remained restrained to the upright berth in his cell, having only regained consciousness several minutes earlier.

' _Where I am? And more importantly where is Liara!_ ' he thought as he tried to free himself, only for the restraints to beat him for the umpteenth time since his awakening. The last thing the Autobot remembered was holding onto both his Asari friend and the Star-Saber, trying to anchor them to the Normandy so they would not be sucked out into the void of space through the hull breach in the corridor. But his strength had failed him, and everything went black as he and Liara were pulled into the vacuum of space. But now he had awoken and found himself restrained in this unknown location.

' _Those guys who attacked us were the same Slavers that had captured Liara the first time._ ' Orion thought as he tried to piece together the current situation from what he already knew, but this just left his spark feeling worse for Liara.

' _I've got to get out of here and find her._ ' he thought while trying again to free himself, straining as he put everything he had into breaking free of his bonds but eventually had to stop when they would not budge.

' _Scrap, I'm not going anywhere._ '

Suddenly the door opened and two Human men entered the room, gaining the Blue haired Bot's attention. The first guy was the bald Slaver that was part of the group that had attacked both him and Liara, but Orion's eyes widened as he recognised the person behind him.

"Hock! You're the one behind the attack on the Normandy?" he asked in a disbelieving tone, earning a smile from the Arms Dealer.

"I wish I was the one responsible, but alas I am not." he replied whilst stopping directly in front of the force-field before gesturing to Kane, who then deactivated the energy-shield. Hock then walked in right up to Orion.

"Where's Liara!" the Bot spat,

"You mean my 'Blue Rose' don't you…." Hock replied, which made the Autobot grit his teeth as he glared back.

"Liara is not yours!" the Bot jumped in angrily, earning a less than interested look from the Arms Dealer.

"..whatever. Even if my Asari is now in the hands of the Shadow Broker, I still hope I get a chance to see you her again."

Orion's eyes widened at that name that had just be spoken, for he had heard it before.

' _That was the name of Agent Zero's employer, the one who tried to grab Liara from us when we rescued her from Hock._ ' he thought.

"The Shadow Broker!" he then said aloud, earning a nod from Hock.

"Yes, he is the one who was responsible for the attack on you ship which was quite successful since I saw it explode afterwards."

The Blue haired Autobot's face suddenly became one of shock and disbelief in return, as he the looked down at the ground.

"No….your lying…." he said back as he felt his spark sink in his chest, as his friends faces began to appear in his mind.

"…your lying." he continued before Hock grabbed the Bot by the throat and lifted his head back to him, so that he could look him in the eyes.

"Believe me, they are dead. They got what they deserved for messing in my affairs, I am sorry that I did not play a bigger role in their demise.." Hock replied coldly before showing Orion a dark smile.

"..but luckily I can show you what I would have done to them."

The Arms Dealer then looked over to Kane, who remained silent and watched the two men before him.

"Kane, what were the methods you and Varas did to that Asari, you know the ones to make her submissive and docile?" he said, earning a smile from the bald Slaver before looking back to Orion with a knowing look.

"Oh, that's right. I remember what you told me you did to her now…." He then said before punching the Autobot hard in the face, earning a grimace from the restrained Bot.

"You beat her for starters."

Orion spat what little blood had formed in his mouth on to the floor and looked up at Hock with an unimpressed expression.

"My Grandmother could slap people harder than that." he said back with a slight smile, making the Arms Dealer narrow his eyes at him.

"Joke all you want, but I will take great pleasure in causing you utmost amounts of pain for what you and your Autobots did to me and my operation." he said back as he raised his fist, ready to strike again. But Orion just smirked at him.

Give it your best shot because when I get out of here, you will die at either mine or Liara's hands….that's a promise."

But neither Hock nor Kane looked very concerned before the Arms Dealer began to punch the Bot again and again, as only those sounds and the grunts and grimaces of Orion could be heard within that room.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile Liara was lost for words as she stood beside her own Mother, who only a few minutes earlier had revealed herself to be the infamous Shadow Broker.

"You want me to join you, why?" she asked with a tone that was both confused and curious, earning a smile from the Matriarch.

"Liara…." she replied while placing a hand on the young Asari's shoulder.

"….you are my Daughter, I want you at my side as 'we' raise our people back to where they belong."

Benezia then pulled away slightly and looked back at Liara with caring expression.

"I remember when I bought you your very first history book, the look on your face as you read it. I watched as you became deeply interested in the past, in the history of the galaxy, focused on the achievements and mistakes of those that came before us. And during the dark days of the Reaper War, you learnt how to fight. You came through all those years stronger than I would have thought you capable of, that is why I believe you should be the one to succeed me as both Matriarch and Shadow Broker when it is the end of my time."

Liara merely looked back with a dumbfounded expression, unable to think clearly on what her Mother had just said.

"You want me to one day replace you, but Vasir…." she managed to say back, to which Benezia simply shook her head in response.

"Tela Vasir has been like a second Daughter to me, but she is merely a warrior. The Asari will need a leader who can fight for them, but will also be unable to make the same mistakes that has blighted others throughout history. That can be only you Liara, my 'Little Wing'."

The young Asari looked back at the Matriarch, seeing the proud look on her face but Liara deep down knew she could not go through with what her Mother wanted and so took a deep breath, before looking back with a serious and regretful expression.

"Mother I wish I could help you with the restoration of our people, but I cannot condone the actions you are going to take to achieve it..." she said back, whilst Benezia looked back as her expression changed to one that could not be read as she listened to her Daughter.

"…You admit that I am a student of history, but yet you think that I could just ignore the fact that you would commit genocide against the Cybertronians. I cannot and not just because my friends are Cybertronian or that I…care for one in particular…" she said, earning an expression from the Matriarch that she wished she could not read. But instead decided to ignore it an carry on.

"….but also because it is wrong, with history proving it time and again. Just how far have you fallen Mother?" Liara finished before noticing one of the holo-screens featuring details of mercenaries, recognising two of them as the Slavers that attacked her and Orion during the raid on the Normandy.

"And what kind of people are you surrounding yourself with? Scum like these." she said with a hurt expression as she looked back at Benezia.

"I work in an area of 'grey' Liara, there is no black and white with what I do. But I require the 'best' to work for me, which unfortunately includes those that society considers unacceptable." she replied as the screen then showed data on a Drell Assassin, one that Liara recognised from back on Illium.

"What about this one, this Thane Krios. It says that he is 'honourable' despite his profession. I doubt he would go along with what you have planned."

Benezia looked up at the Drell as he appeared on the holo-screen and smiled slightly, acknowledging what her Daughter had guessed.

"That would be correct, because despite my reputation and power. There are still those who say no to me…..though I do have my ways of encouraging them to accept my decisions." she replied, earning a wide eyed look from Liara as she read a part of Thane's file.

"He said no to working for you, so…..you had 'Lockdown' kill his wife! Just so you could manipulate him into joining the organisation by promising him that you would give him his loved one's killer."

"That was the only way I could think of to guarantee his cooperation, so I took it." the Matriarch replied with her tone suddenly cold and calculating, which was in reaction to her Daughter who just looked back with a further disbelieving expression after reading some more.

"And your holding his son as a bargaining chip…." she started to say before Benezia cut her off.

"We told Thane that his young son Kolyat would be safe here, so long as he himself remained in our employment."

"…but surely as a Parent yourself, you would not wish that kind of treatment on anyone els…." Liara said back before something else suddenly overcame her thoughts, stopping her from finishing her sentence.

' _Why are the Slavers that tortured me working for Mother, surely she would…._ ' she thought before looking back at Benezia with narrowed eyes, earning a knowing expression from the older Asari.

"Those Slavers you hired to get me off the Normandy, they were the same ones who captured and tortured me before selling me to that Bastard…Donavon Hock. But what I want to know is, did you know about this?" Liara said back with her voice tinged with a building anger, but the Matriarch just stared at her with a blank expression.

"Yes I did."

"You...did..." Liara replied, as he thoughts were over run by the memories of her captivity and torture by those Slavers, the pain and suffering she had to endure every waking moment as those men attempted to break her body and her mind. She had been beaten, starved of food, water, light and heat. Made to suffer until she would beg for them to stop, except the young Asari never did so...

' _Liara was on her knees in a darkened room, her hands held up over her head by restraints which hung from the ceiling_ _above her_ _. She had been left alone in that room for goddess knows how long, since the passage of time had become lost to her. Every part of her body ached, from her starved stomach to her cracked ribs and bruised skin._ _A biotic clamp was also fastened tightly around her neck, like a heavy weight on her already aching body._

_'I will_ _never give in to them, never let them see me break…..for I would rather die than give them the satisfaction.' she thought before the door to her room opened up, filling her surroundings with a blinding light. Liara felt her eyes sting as the brightness of the light over-rid her vision, joining the rest of her body in the physical pain it was going through. After a moment her sight began to refocus, allowing the Asari to see three figures standing before her._

" _Are you sure about this, because I still think that our usual 'teaching methods' will eventually work on her, especially if we include….." a familiar voice spoke as Liara looked up to see that it was the bald Human who was called Kane, and on one side him stood a Vorcha that remained nameless while on the other was the leader, a Batarian by the name of Varas and he shook his head in return._

" _No Kane, this Asari is the finest looking female we have had in our possession."_

_He then knelt in front of Liara and grabbed hold of her chin, lifting her face so that he could see her properly._

" _This one is strong, I doubt we could break her mind before her body ultimately fails. And we will get our highest pay-day if we make sure that she remains….generally unharmed." he added while the young Asari narrowed her eyes at him in a hateful stare, earning a smile from Varas._

" _Yes, I have a better idea for you."_

_The lead Slaver then let go of Liara and looked over to the Vorcha standing beside Kane._

" _Hand me the shock adapter." he said, gaining a nod from the other who then gave the Batarian a small metallic device which he held before the Asari._

" _This little gem will ensure you do exactly what we say from now on Asari." he then added before connecting it to the would be Slave's biotic clamp, before getting back to his feet and looking down at her._

" _One way or another, you will know your place." Varas added before activating his holo-tool._

" _Now stand up."_

_Liara though just stared back at him, not even blinking for a moment, earning a sigh from the Batarian._

" _Very well, have it your way." he replied before tapping a button on his holo-tool and suddenly the biotic clamp came to life, sending a strong pulse of electricity through the Asari's body which made her scream out in pain for several seconds. Varas then tapped the button again to deactivate it, making Liara slump back onto her knees while breathing heavily._

" _So now will you do as I say and stand up?"_

_But again the young but battered Asari ignored him and remained quiet, which made Varas narrow his eyes at her as he bit his lip._

" _Have it your way, I can do this all day!" he spat before activating device again, which electrocuted Liara and made her scream out in pain as the energy lit up the room.'_

As the memory faded, Liara looked back at Benezia with a look of utter disbelief.

"Why?…..why would you let me go through that?" she uttered just above a whisper, because the young Asari could not believe that any Parent would knowing let their children suffer. But the Matriarch merely looked back at her with a resolute stare, like she was not even bothered as she started to walk around her Daughter.

"Only great Men and Women can lead others Liara, but they must first be baptised in fire before taking their rightful place above everyone else. When I received word that you had been captured by Slavers, I knew that the horrors that they would put you through would change and shape you. But I knew you were strong and that it would ultimately forge you into a person more befitting of what I had planned, as I want a Daughter who is in every way my equal." she said while looking at Liara.

"You have survived your baptism of fire and emerged far stronger than I could have hoped, I have watched you since the Autobots took you from my grasp, and you are not only stronger physically, but wiser too. You will make an excellent successor for me, my Daughter." Benezia replied with an almost hysterical but proud tone in her voice, though the younger Asari looked back with a sickened expression.

"After what you have done, what makes you think you have the right to call me 'Daughter'. I am ashamed of what you have become and will have no part in this, I will remember and cherish the person you once were because I do not recognise who stands before me right now." Liara said back with a cold tone and firm expression, not letting her feelings get in the way of what needed to be said. But the Matriarch just stared back at her once ' little wing' for a long moment, before narrowing her eyes back in a hateful stare.

"You disappoint me Liara, I am the one who brought you into this world. The one who raised you and loved you, and this is how you repay me….with this disgusting insolence, but I will have your obedience….one way or another." she spat before tapping a button on her holo-tool which brought up an image of Orion being beaten by Hock in his cell, this made the younger Asari's eyes widen as she watched her would-be lover being tortured.

"You will do as I say Liara, or this Autobot will die. In fact I was thinking of introducing him to the Cybonic Plague, it would be most interesting to see how it would affect a Cybertronian/Human hybrid such as him." the Matriarch added, making her Daughter look back at her with a stare of pure rage.

"I know that you care for this Boy, so stand down and join me…..or watch him suffer the consequences." the older Asari finished, while Liara gritted her teeth.

"You think that I am going to stand down just because you have put Orion in jeopardy? Then you don't know me at all 'Mother', for I never let those bastard Slavers break me. So what makes you think I will let you!" she spat back while clenching her fists, which started to glow with biotic energy.

"You have proven yourself to be just as big a threat as the Predacons and I have to stop you, but now you have brought Orion into it and for that…..I will end you!"

Benezia though simply smirked in return as she followed suit and conjured biotic energy around her own fists.

"You think you can take me on Liara, your own Mother…a Matriarch now less? So be it!"

The younger Asari then launched herself into a biotic charge, speeding towards her Mother in a blue flash. But Benezia threw a biotic uppercut that stopped Liara dead in her tracks and sent her flying into the air, the Matriarch then held her glowing blue hand out in Liara's direction and caught her in a biotic energy field. Before the younger Asari could do anything, her more experienced elder then performed a biotic slam and smashed her into the ground.

"You dare to raise a hand to me…..and expect me not to wipe the floor with you." Benezia said as she then lifted a hurt Liara off the ground with her power, holding her Daughter in the air as she walked over.

"This was never going to end well for you Liara, you are simply no match for me." she said before slamming Liara into a nearby wall, making the young Asari grimace in pain. The Matriarch then let go of her, making her Daughter fall to the ground hard before walking slowly towards her.

"I will unleash the plague upon the Autobots, eradicating a species that should have wiped themselves out long ago." Benezia added whilst Liara slowly got back to her feet, holding onto the wall for support as she looked up at her Mother approaching.

"The Federation will then be brought to it's knees before they beg for me to lead them back into the light, only then will the Galaxy be as it should." the Matriarch carried on before gesturing a low glowing punch to the ground, creating a biotic slam that knocked Liara back to onto the floor.

"But you my Daughter will not live to see such a time, and neither will your Autobot lover." she said, making the younger Asari look up at her with a wide-eyed expression of fear, gaining a dark smile from Benezia.

"It sickens me to think you would choose someone like him as a bond-mate, I am doing the world a service by ending both your lives." she carried on with her scathing verbal attack on Liara, who in return narrowed her eyes and stared back with a wrathful expression as she clenched her fists tightly that in turn began to glow brighter with every second that past. But the Matriarch did not look impressed as she stood over her Daughter, her expression passive.

"You cannot…." she began to say before Liara cut her off suddenly.

"Shut the hell up!" she spat as she thrust her fists forward, which exploded in a biotic blast that sent Benezia threw the air several meters before she hit the ground and rolled to a stop. This allowed the younger Asari to get back to her feet whilst never taking her eyes off her Mother, who quickly recovered and readied herself for the next round.

"That is more like it Liara, I knew you had it in you….but it still will not be enough." she said back, while her Daughter took a deep breath.

"This ends now." she said before rushing Benezia, once again using biotic charge. The Matriarch did the same and rushed at her younger opponent, the pair clashed in the center of the room and caused a biotic blast to erupt outwards from their impact. The energy was so concentrated and powerful that it shattered the glass containment of the conduit near them, exposing it's own energy which shut down the holo-screens positioned around it. But this did not even phase either Mother or Child as they focused on defeating the other, as the battle had turned into a fist fight. Liara threw a punch that connected perfectly on Benezia's face, knocking her backwards a step or two. But before she could recover, the younger Asari continued with her advantage and threw another punch.

' _My Mother's Biotics are more powerful than mine, but her close quarters combat is certainly lacking._ ' she thought as she then kicked her Mother in the side, earning a yelp from the Matriarch who stumbled backwards.

"You will pay for that you little Bitch!" she spat before noticing the broken glass lying around them. So before Liara attacked again, Benezia used biotics to lift the shards off the ground and surround her Daughter. The younger Asari noticed this and looked at her with a thoughtful expression, pausing in her attack as the glass floated all around her.

"Die!" her Elder then spat as the glass shards then flew through the air at Liara from all directions, making her gasp out loud before quickly bringing her clenched fists up to her chest and focusing which then created a biotic sphere that enveloped her being. The broken pieces of glass flew like daggers into the sphere, but the energy surrounding Liara instantly disintegrated them into sand which landed harmlessly around her.

Benezia looked back with a surprised expression as her Daughter narrowed her eyes and met her own, pure anger could be seen in them.

"You first!" was all the younger Asari said in return before pushing her fists out in front of her in direction of the Matriarch, this in turn made the energy sphere suddenly move and engulf her Mother. Liara then tightened her fists more, ensuring that her opponent could not break free before feigning a throw with her clenched hands to the right, sending her Mother head first into the exposed energy conduit.

Benezia screamed out as the energy rushed through her body, burning it inside out as the electricity completely consumed her. The lights in the room began to short out and flicker on and off repeatedly as the older Asari was electrocuted, causing Liara to cover her eyes whilst hearing her Mother's screams before suddenly the power blew and sent the body flying out and hit the floor hard. Liara withdrew her hand away from her eyes, letting see that the emergency lighting and power had kicked in. She looked down to see the fully burnt corpse of her Mother lying only a few feet away, so she walked over and looked down at it with a look of sorrow and regret on her face.

"I am sorry Mother, but you left me no choice." she said softly before bowing her head, mourning her Mother's passing. A moment later and the power in room turned back on, reactivating the holo-screens once again.

' _Orion!_ ' she suddenly thought before activating her holo-tool and syncing it to the Shadow Broker's computer.

' _Where are they keeping him?_ ' she thought whilst looking through the ship's schematics on her own holo-screen, when suddenly her attention was caught by a familiar voice crying out.

"Benezia!"

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Liara looked over to the room's entrance and saw Vasir standing there with a look of complete shock and despair on her face, as she looked at the Shadow Broker's corpse. So the younger Asari stopped what she was doing and stood ready for whatever the double-Agent would do next, earning a similar angry expression from her as she turned her attention to Liara.

"What have you done!" Vasir spat whilst giving her Mentor's Daughter a dagger like stare.

"What had to be done to stop this madness from going on any further." Liara replied as she took a step back from the Agent, who in turn stepped closer.

"Benezia was my mentor and my friend, you betrayed and murdered your own mother." she said back as she clenched her fists and made them glow with biotic energy, earning a mirrored response from the younger Asari before the entire ship shook around them with alarms blaring.

"Warning, Warning, ship's power-core has ruptured. All hands are to evacuate before core-breach occurs in fifteen minutes." a synthesised voice spoke through the ship's inter-com, earning the attention of both Asari.

' _That must of happened when I threw my Mother into the power conduit,_ _the ex_ _cess biotic energy must have passed through it all the way to the core and_ _destabilised_ _it._ ' she thought as Vasir returned her attention to her.

"None of that matters, I will make you pay for what you did to Benezia." she said with a finality to her voice.

"You heard the computer, this ship is going to explode." Liara replied as her thoughts refocused back to Orion.

"Yes and if I don't kill you, I can at least delay you long enough so that the explosion will kill you and your Autobot friend, that is something I can take solace in." the double-Agent said back before charging a biotic energy ball and throwing it at the other Asari, causing Liara to dive out of the way just as it impacted the wall behind her.

' _I don't have time for this._ ' she thought while getting back to her feet before throwing a biotic blast back, to which Vasir brought up biotic barrier in front of her. The blast impacted the energy-field causing a bright blue flash as it absorbed the attack, though the moment it started to fade Liara charged in and tackled the Agent to the floor.

"Why are you fighting for my Mother? What did she do to deserve your loyalty?" she asked angrily as she pinned the other Asari down, earning a grunt from Vasir as she struggled to free herself.

"Because she shared my views on the Cybertronians and unlike others that felt the same, Benezia was willing to do something about it. I owe her everything, especially since she chose me to succeed her." she spat back before freeing her right arm, allowing Vasir to hit Liara hard in the stomach. This winded her and let the Agent knock her off herself, before performing a backwards roll back into a kneeling position. The younger Asari recovered and looked over at her opponent with a knowing look.

"You think that my Mother really wanted you to succeed her as Shadow Broker, then why did she want me here?"

Vasir looked back at Liara with a thoughtful expression as she dwelled on the question for a second.

"Because she wanted you…her Daughter to help." she said back whilst keeping her fists clenched, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

"Yes, that part is true. But my Mother also wanted me to later succeed her as both Shadow Broker and Matriarch, she never wanted you for that….not permanently." Liara replied in a calm tone, making the other Asari stare back with narrowed, hateful eyes as she gritted her teeth in response.

"You lie, you will say anything. I have worked with your Mother for over twenty years, while you never gave a damn. You were more bothered about your career and your Cybertronian friends. And now after Benezia opened her arms to you and wished for you to join her, you not only slap her hands away and betray her…..you have also killed her!" she spat before launching herself at her enemy, making Liara go on the defensive as Vasir began throwing punches and kicks which she blocked, one after another. The double-Agent kept up the offensive, charging her fists with biotic energy. But the younger Asari did the same, blocking each and every one before countering with a punch to the face and then a kick to the stomach, knocking Vasir back.

"You talk to me about betrayal, but you betrayed the very principles you swore to abide by when you became an Autobot Spectre." Liara replied, earning a lopsided grin from her opponent before she threw another punch that connected with the Asari's chin, making her grunt as she recoiled.

"And I would do it again, they have done nothing to gain my trust and obedience." Vasir said back, as she watched Liara wipe a trickle of blood from her mouth.

"Your skills are impressive though Liara, you are your Mother's Daughter. But I am a Spectre, you cannot keep this up for long, not with time ticking down as we speak."

"Your right about that, but are you forgetting that I did just kill my Mother, a powerful Matriarch that eclipses both us…." the younger Asari replied, though the words made her heart ache with guilt and regret at what she had done. But she needed to keep that bottled up, because not only did her and Orion's survival depend on it. But also the rest of the galaxy, since she knew where the Predacon fleet was…thanks to her Mother's Intel.

"…And I am fighting for more than my own survival, and you cannot stand in my way a moment longer." she spat before then firing another biotic blast from her hands, knocking Vasir several metres back. The Agent regained her balance and returned her attention to her opponent, who had started running towards her whilst glowing with a blue shimmer as she charged her biotics.

"You don't have what it takes, but by all means….show me what you've got." she sneered as she created a biotic barrier around her body like a shell, readying herself for whatever Liara had planned. But the younger Asari suddenly performed a biotic charge and smashed into Vasir, shattering her barrier with the strength of the impact and sending the Asari flying into the wall behind her and knocked her unconscious. As he body fell back to the ground, leaving a crater in the wall where she had impacted it. Liara then used biotic lift to pull up a piece of the damaged wall off and hover it over the defeated Agent, a thoughtful yet angry expression on her face as she contemplated ending Vasir's life. But suddenly her attention was caught by the computer's voice as it spoke through the inter-com.

"Warning, twelve minutes until power-core breach."

This earned a thoughtful expression from the Asari before suddenly throwing aside the large piece of debris.

' _Orion._ ' Liara thought as she reactivated her holo-tool which by now had been completely synced to the Shadow Broker's database.

"Computer, where is Orion Darby being held." she asked while looking at the holo-screen hovering over her forearm.

"That name does not compute, please restate your question." the synthesised voice replied, earning a look of frustration from Liara as she stood over the unconscious Vasir, until it finally clicked in her mind why.

"Computer, where is 'the Autobot' being held?"

Suddenly the holo-screen in front of her came to life and revealed a map of the ship, showing her position and another blinking spot in a location not far from her.

"Here." the Computer replied, earning a nod from the Asari.

"Download information concerning Predacon movements to my holo-tool." she then said, gaining a beep from her holo-device as the screen disappeared.

' _Hold on Orion, I am on my way._ ' Liara thought before exiting the room, leaving the corpse of Benezia and a knocked out Vasir alone.


	37. Chapter 37

The alert sirens were blaring all over the ship as Liara ran down one of it's many corridors, hoping to reach her Orion and free him before the approaching destruction of the very vessel they were aboard. But just as she turned a corner, the Asari ran into a group of six Mechs who looked at her with a blank expression that could only be read as confused. Liara though focused her biotics through her right hand and thrust it before her, which made the Mech nearest to her suddenly fly backwards into the wall.

The other robots looked back at their comrade before turning their weapons on the Asari and open fire, but Liara was ready for them and surrounded herself with a biotic barrier that covered every inch of her athletic figure. The gunfire was absorbed by it's blue energy as the young Asari launched herself into the centre of the group, and began to punch and kick at each and every one of punched straight through the chest of one robots then followed that with an elbow to another which tore it's head from it's body, exposing it's wires which flickered and buzzed before the body fell to the ground.

One of the remaining Mechs grabbed at the Liara's arm but she merely spun around and performed a biotic throw, sending it into the another one behind it and smashing them both against the wall. She turned to see the last three Mechs ready themselves to attack her, so she again focused her biotics into a shockwave which flowed across the ground and destroyed them, sending their debris flying backwards down the corridor. Liara then took a breath as she looked back in the direction of the detention cells, her mind only on one thing.

' _I really don't have time for this, I have to reach Orion._ ' she thought as she continued down the corridor, hoping she would reach him in time.

Orion meanwhile felt aches all over his torso and face before Hock's fist once again connected with his face, earning a gleeful expression from the Arms dealer while a worried Kane looked on.

"Your friend looks worried." the Bot said back as blood trickled down his chin, earning a stare from the bald Slaver before he looked back to Hock.

"We should be going, just leave him here and let this place take him with it." Kane said, making the other man shake his head in return.

"I am having too much fun rearranging this guy's face." Hock replied before punching Orion square in the face again, which made the blue Haired Autobot spit out some blood onto the ground before grinning back.

"You….will have to do better than that." he managed to say, earning an angry look from the before all their attention was caught by the computer voice speaking through the inter-com.

"Warning, ten minutes until power-core breach."

Kane gave Hock a further worrying stare after hearing the message.

"We 'really' should get to the shuttle-bay and leave." he said back with fear tingeing his voice, but Hock gave him a knowing look in return.

"Worried that all the shuttles will be taken are you? Apart from us, Lockdown, Agent Zero, that Drell and whoever the Shadow Broker is. The only others I have seen on this ship are Mechs, so I doubt we have to worry about our place on the escape craft. Besides we have plenty of time to reach the Shuttle-bay, almost ten minutes still." he replied as he pulled back his fist, readying to strike Orion again.

"But what if they have decided to leave us and each take a shuttle?" Kane then asked with a wide eyed stare, making the Arms Dealer stop in his tracks as a thoughtful expression crossed his face.

"What do you mean?" the man asked as he turned away from the Autobot and looked back at his companion.

"Apart from the computer warning, no one has come to get us in the last five minutes have they. What if they have decided to leave us behind?" the Slaver replied, making Hock look down at the ground as it sank in, whilst Orion just watched them both with a slight grin as he felt the strength around his restraints weakening.

' _The drain of power to my restraints must be down to the power-core breach. I just need these idiots to stall a little more…wait, he said…Agent Zero._ ' he thought as a memory came to mind, while Hock looked back at Kane.

"You really think that they would do that to us?" he asked before both his and the Slaver's attention was drawn back to Orion, as the Blue haired Bot had started to chuckle to himself.

"What do you find so funny?"

"Well, I find it funny that you are now allied with the very people who attacked you to get Liara originally." he said back with a smile, making the man narrow his eyes at him.

"What are you talking about? That was you!" he said as he stepped right in front of the Autobot and grabbed his throat.

"I admit I was there with the others and we 'rescued' Liara from you, but we weren't the only ones there. Since we ran into Agent Zero who was also after her." Orion said back, earning a confused look from the Arms dealer before he shook his head and equipped his pistol.

"Your lying, you will just say anything to stay alive at this point." he replied as he pointed his gun at the Bot's head.

"Think about it?" Orion added, not even acknowledging that a pistol was pointed at his forehead at that moment.

"No, I would rather take this Slaver's word of that of an Autobot." Hock said back as he touched the barrel of his pistol to the Bot's head.

"And I would prefer to see your blood decorate the wall behind you now." he added with a smile as he began to tighten his grip around the trigger.

"Don't you dare!" a familiar voice shouted at them, making all three look over to the doorway. And standing there was Liara with her glowing hand pointed at the pair.

"Ah, my 'Blue Rose'. It is good to see you again. Now stand down or I will put a bullet through this Bot's head." Hock said with a smile as he looked back at the Asari, who just stared back with a hateful expression.

"You do that and I will flay you alive." she spat back, gaining a grin from Orion as he quietly moved his left arm, noticing that the restraint had weakened even more.

' _All I need to do is one swift strong movement to break it._ ' he thought while both Hock and Kane kept their attention on Liara, unsure of how serious they should take her threat.

"This Asari shouldn't be a problem for you Kane, I am right?" the Arms dealer said back, earning an unsure look from the bald Slaver in return.

"I wasn't alone the last time we subdued her…" he began to say back, but Hock then cut him off.

"But your not alone, I am with you." he said thought Kane simply responded with a gulp as he kept his eyes on Liara, who just stared back whilst her hand began to glow a little brighter.

"..plus we have an ace in the hole." the Arms dealer added as he again touched the barrel of his pistol to Orion's head, while looking back at the Asari.

"So how do you want to this to go…'Blue Rose'?"

Liara just stared back, narrowing her eyes at him as she clenched her hand into a fist before glancing at the Blue haired Bot. He gave her a slight smile while slowly moving his hand in it's restraint for her to see, gaining an ever so small smile in return from her before she looked back at Hock.

"I will shoot him if you don't stand down." he added as the Asari smiled back.

"No you won't." she replied, which made Hock suddenly narrow his eyes at her in return.

"You don't tell me what to do 'Asari, you do as I say'!" he spat back, his grasp tightening around the grip panel as he held the gun to her lover's head though the Arms dealer kept his attention on her.

"You have no way to make me do anything you want, not now…not ever." Liara replied coldly as she slowly began to walk into the room, giving both men a stare that looked like it could go right through them. This made the pair suddenly look rather fearful as Hock suddenly panicked and pressed the gun's barrel against Orion's head again.

"You brought this on yourself!" he replied in a scared tone as he began to pull the trigger, only for the Blue haired Bot to suddenly break the arm restraint on his left side, and grab the gun. Pushing it just away enough that the moment it went off, the bullet instead impacted the wall next to him.

"Wha…!" the Arms dealer started to say as Liara performed a biotic charge and slammed into Kane, while Orion pulled Hock close enough so he that could head-butt the man, making him drop the pistol as he stumbled backwards. As this happened, the Asari looked over to the Autobot and waved her glowing hand in front of her, breaking the remaining restraints on the berth. Orion then dropped off it and fell to his knees before looking over to her, an appreciative smile appeared on his face.

"Thanks Liara." he said before turning his attention to Hock who stood before him.

"Your more than welcome Orion." she replied back fondly before Kane suddenly grabbed her from behind, one hand on her arm while the other went round her neck.

"Liara!" Orion shouted as he saw the Slaver get his friend in a hold but just as he got back to his feet, Hock suddenly charged into him and pushed him up against the wall before punching him in the chest hard, winding him.

"Didn't think I was capable of that did you…" the Arms dealer sneered as the Autobot coughed hard, before looking over to see Liara in Kane's hands with the Slaver leering over her as he held her close.

"Remember Asari, I told you once I would get my hands on you eventually. That I had such thoughts of what I would do to you when the time came." he said into her ear, making the Asari feel sick as she felt his breath on her skin.

"Well first I will let you witness your boyfriend's death by Hock's hands, then with your will completely broken by that. Then I will let you taste how dark my imagination can be." the Slaver added as he tightened his grip on her.

At that moment both Liara and Orion looked up at each other, their eyes meeting as he had just heard every word of what Kane had said. Making the Bot turn his attention to Hock and grit his teeth.

"Never!" he spat as he suddenly put all his strength into a punch that hit the man so hard in the stomach that he almost keeled over, before the Autobot followed through with a punch to the face that sent the Arms dealer to the floor.

Both Liara and Kane watched this with surprise in their expressions, though the Asari had more of a smile on hers before she then made her left hand glow with biotic energy which coincided with a part of the Slaver's arm that was still around her neck, which began to glow too which earned a worried look from him.

"What the? I will break your nec…." he started to say just as Liara clenched her hand into a fist, earning a cry of pain from Kane as the bones in his forearm shattered from the stress the biotic field the Asari created around his arm. This made him let go of her, so she turned around and used biotic push to send him onto his backside,

"My arm!" he shouted before cradling his broken limb with his other while Liara stood over him, staring down at the Slaver with an expression that his heart go cold with fear.

"You talk about dark thoughts and imagination, then try mine!" she spat as her eyes suddenly went black, making Kane freeze where he sat and stare back like a statue for a moment. Then he suddenly screamed so loud and covered his face with his hands, Orion just watched because Kane looked like his head was about to explode with the way he was holding his head in his hands. The Slaver fell onto his side still screaming as he went into a spasm on the floor before going quiet, his hands dropping to floor to reveal that his eyes were still open and glazed over.

"What did you do?" Orion asked with an uncertainty to his voice as Liara turned to him, a look of fulfilment on her face.

"I gave him a taste of his own medicine, that man was a rapist and murderer of women, it was no more than he deserved." she replied, earning a nod from the blue haired Bot as he grabbed Hock and lifted him on to his feet.

"I couldn't agree more, now what do you want to do with Hock? I did tell him that either of us would kill him." he said back as the Asari nodded in return before grabbing the Arms dealer by the throat, staring into his eyes and seeing the fear reflected back, fear that was well deserved after he had witnessed the fate of Kane just seconds earlier.

"Please, show me mercy." Hock begged, gaining a look of disgust from Liara before the inter-com suddenly activated, earning all their attention.

"Warning, eight minutes until power-core breach." the computer stated, earning a thoughtful expression from the Asari before staring back at Hock.

"You are pathetic..." she said back with venom-like tone to her voice before dropping him back to the ground, making hin look up with a confused face.

"...run, and pray I never see you again." she added, which made Hock get to his feet and run out of the room in almost one quick motion, gaining a confused look from Orion.

"I don't get it, I thought you would want to make him pay?" he said back, while Liara looked back with a caring expression.

"We don't have the time, and he just isn't worth it Orion. Without the power and influence he had before, Hock is just a small, pathetic individual. Plus he won't get off this ship before it blows, the shuttle-bay is in the other direction of where he ran off to for starters." she replied with a smile before looking the Bot up and down, noticing his injuries.

"Are you okay?"

Orion gave her a look of surprise in return.

"I'll be alright, all I had were two idiots hitting me. I was more concerned for you Liara.." he said back, gaining an appreciative smile from the Asari as he spoke.

"..so what about you? What happened?" he asked, making her smile disappear as a more saddened expression befell her beautiful face.

"I will tell you about it once we are out of here, so let's not waste anymore time here." the Asari replied while holding out a hand to the Autobot, who took it in his own.

"Okay, lets go." he said back with a nod, regaining her smile before the pair turned and headed for the room's exit, with Orion making sure to pick up Hock's pistol on their way out.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Vasir opened her eyes to find that she was lying on her side, and immediately the rest of her body let her feel the pain it had been enduring while she had been unconscious. Every part of her being ached, earning a grimace from the Asari as she lifted herself up onto her knees.

' _That Bitch certainly has more strength than I would have guessed.'_ ' she thought as she looked back around the room, only for her eyes to fall upon the burnt corpse of Benezia, earning a saddened expression from Vasir.

' _I am so sorry I failed you Benezia, your Daughter will pay._ ' she thought before tapping her com-link.

"Lockdown, this is Vasir. Do you read?"

"I read you, what's going on? How did the power-core breach?" the former-Decepticon replied, while the Asari kept her eyes focused on Benezia, a single tear running down her cheek as she thought about her mentor.

"We have been betrayed, the Shadow Broker is dead." she said back, earning a gasp from the other end of the link.

"..What! How?" Lockdown asked with a shocked tone.

"Liara killed him…" the Agent replied, knowing that she had to keep the pretence of who the others believed the Shadow Broker's false identity.

"..and she set off the power-core breach. How long until it blows?" she then asked.

"We have several minutes left, why do you ask?" Lockdown replied with a curious tone.

"Because we have enough time to escape the ship before the explosion, but first we will lay a trap for that Asari Bitch who is no doubt rescuing her Autobot friend as we speak. We can kill them for the Shadow Broker and then get to safety in that time." Vasir said back.

"What about Hock and Kane?" the former Decepticon replied as he thought about others.

"What about them, if they were still entertaining themselves when Liara arrived to save Orion Darby, then they are already dead." she said back coldly.

"And we should probably leave Thane and his son here too right? I don't know how long we could keep up the pretence of who really murdered his wife." Lockdown added, gaining a nod from Vasir.

"Very well, just go now and make sure you have enough Mechs with you at the Shuttle-bay. I will be….arrggh!" she said back while trying to get back to her feet, but falling back onto her backside as her leg gave way beneath her.

"Are you alright?" the Assassin said back, a concerned tone was clear in his voice.

"Just trying to shake off the after effects of my fight with Liara, I will be there as soon as I can. Just don't underestimate her or that Autobot. Zero out." she replied before ending the link, and then took a Medi-gel syringe out of a pocket on her utility belt.

' _This should get me moving, I need to get to the shuttle-bay._ ' she thought as she injected the medicine into her leg.

Meanwhile Liara and Orion ran down the corridor, with the Bot following the Asari's lead as she glanced down at the map on her holo-tool's screen.

"Not far to go." she said back, gaining a nod from the blue haired Bot as he smiled back.

"We have plenty of time Liara, we'll grab one of their shuttles and get out of here." he said back as the pair turned a corner and stopped in their tracks, with Orion raising his pistol at the Drell standing before them.

"Him again." the Autobot said with an angry stare, earning a similar expression from their adversary who too aimed his twin pistols back at both of them, though he looked less convinced as the ship's alarms blared again around them.

"Six minutes until power-core breach."

"Orion wait!" Liara then said in a commanding tone as she stepped between both men, earning surprised looks from both.

"Liara?" Orion replied with a questioning tone.

"Your name is Thane Krios, correct?" she asked, ignoring the Bot while she focused on the Drell who nodded back, but did not lower his own weapons.

"That's right, how did you..?" he began to ask as he looked at her with a curious expression.

"Because I have access to the file the Shadow Broker had on you, and it has information on it that you must know." she replied whileusing her holo-tool to bring up a screen displaying the Drell's file. Thane walked up slowly to it, his pistols slowly lowering as he started to read what was on the screen.

"Liara, are you sure about this?" Orion asked, but the Asari ignored him while she continued to watch the Drell, whose eyes widened as he read the file.

"….Lockdown's responsible…..for my wife's murder." he said back in disbelief, gaining a nod from her in return.

' _Lockdown, I have heard that name before._ ' Orion thought as he watched both Liara and Thane.

"Yes, the Shadow Broker figured it was the only way to gain your trust, by saying that you would get all the help in finding the killer as long as you joined the organisation."

"I have been a fool. Tell me, where is Lockdown and the Shadow Broker?" Thane replied, his face becoming stern.

"The Shadow Broker is already dead, killed by my hand. But as far as Lockdown goes…" Liara started to say before Orion jumped in.

"This ship has just over five minutes until it blows, I bet everyone else will already be there." the blue haired Bot stated while Thane's eyes widened, as his need for revenge was sudden over ridden by thoughts for someone far more important to him.

"My son, I need to find my son." he then said with panic in his voice, earning a sympathetic look from Liara.

"You mean Kolyat, I know where he is and I can get him for you." she replied, gaining the Drell's attention.

"We still need a way off the ship, can you help me secure us a shuttle while Liara retrieves your son?" Orion then asked, a thoughtful expression from Thane before he nodded back in return.

"Yes, I will help you. But if Lockdown shows up, I want him myself."

"Of course, he is all yours." the Autobot replied.

"Alright then, you two go get us a shuttle. I will meet you there with Kolyat." Liara said back, earning a nod from both Orion and Thane before they started to move back down the corridor, only for the Bot to look back to the Asari with a caring expression.

"Be careful."

"You too." she replied with a mirrored look before turning around and running in the opposite direction.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Liara continued down one of the many corridors of the ship, but she did not need to go very far to find Kolyat's location, in fact if they had more time then the three of them could have retrieved his son. But with just five minutes to go before the ship's destruction, the Asari had to do this by herself, and she turned a corner to find two Mechs standing guard at one of the many doors that lined both sides of the corridor before her. Before either of the robots could spot her, Liara took cover around the corner and reactivated her holo-tool.

' _Yes, that is where Kolyat is located._ ' she thought while looking down at the yellow dot on the map that was being shown on her holo-tool, so she quickly turned it off and returned her attention to the two guards standing in her way.

' _Got to make this quick._ ' she thought before and idea came to mind, earning a smile from the Asari as she focused her biotics into her left hand, gaining a blue energy glow around it. The young woman then left the cover of the wall and stood in view of the two Mechs, who noticed and immediately aimed their weapons at her.

"Freeze." they said in unison, with a synthesized tone to their voices. But Liara simply smirked before throwing a blue energy projectile directly at them, which made her entire body glow for a split second before it left her and flew across the corridor at the pair. It then hit the closest of the Mechs, causing an explosion of biotic energy that sent them both flying into the walls before they too exploded from the damage caused. The Asari then ran down the hallway and used her holo-tool to hack the door controls and gain entrance to the room, finding it to be a standard living quarters….though kind of empty from the look of it.

' _Where is he?_ ' she thought while looking around the room.

"Kolyat?" she said in a gentle voice, before hearing a scuffle like noise from under the desk that was nearby. So Liara walked over to it and knelt to find an eight year old Drell sitting under it with a scared look on his face.

"Stay…back!" he said back with a stutter, but the Asari just held out her hands in a non-threatening gesture.

"It's alright Kolyat, I won't hurt you." she said back softly, earning a surprised look from the child.

"How…do you know my name? Who are…you?" he asked with an unsure tone.

"My name is Liara, I am an acquaintance of your Father's." the Asari said back.

"You know my Dad?"

"Yes, I am here to take you to him." she said back as she held out a hand to the Drell, who looked down at it with a thoughtful expression before looking back at her face.

"I haven't seen my Dad for so long?" the boy replied, earning a kind smile from Liara.

"So come with me, and I will reunite you with him." she answered, earning a nod from Kolyat who reached out and took her hand.

"Okay." he replied before climbing out from under the desk, earning a curious look from the Asari as she noticed he had a toy ship in his free hand.

"You like star-ships?" she asked as she noticed that it was a toy replica of the Defiant, which made the boy nod back enthusiastically.

"I love this ship, I want to fly one just like it when I grow up." he said back with a smile, gaining a mirrored expression from Liara.

' _He will love it when he sees the Normandy._ ' she thought before they both moved to the door, with the Asari taking a glance outside and noticing that the path was clear…. for the moment.

"Okay Kolyat, I need you to do exactly as I say alright. I promise you will see your Dad real soon." she said while looking down at the child, who gave her a knowing look.

"The 'other people' kept telling me that, but you're the first person I want to believe." he said back, earning a nod from her.

"Let's go." she said before she took his hand in hers and the pair left the room and ran back the way she had came.

Not so far away, Orion and Thane turned a corner into an adjoining corridor, that had on it's right side only one double door and a windows either side of it's doorframe.

"There is the entrance to the shuttle-bay, if we are lucky then we can get a look inside and see what we will be up against." the Drell said, gaining a nod from the Autobot in return before the pair sneaked up to the nearest window and took cover under it.

"I'll take a look" he then said before raising himself up just enough to peek inside, taking in the layout of the room and the Mechs he could see from their location before sinking back down into a squat.

"I see several Mechs in there right now, they are guarding two shuttles. I don't see Lockdown in there though." he said back, earning nod from Thane who looked back with a serious expression.

"He's there, I know he is. I have worked with that Decepticon long enough to know what he can do." he said back, before sighing while looking down at his pistols.

"He played me, him and the Shadow Broker. He has to pay."

Orion gave the Drell a sympathetic look while placing a hand on his shoulder in support.

"Look, if Lockdown has in fact already jumped ship. I promise that I will do everything in my power to help you find him, it's the least I can do for your help." he said back, earning a smile from Thane.

"I appreciate that Orion…." he started to say before the blue haired Bot took another peek inside the Shuttle-bay.

"…so consider this an early thank, as I clear the way to the shuttle." the Drell added regaining Orion's attention as he looked back to see that his new friend had disappeared, his eyes widening at the empty air before him.

' _Where the hell…?_ ' he thought before noticing that the door had been opened, making him ready his pistol.

' _Damn it._ '

Inside the large hanger-like room, the Mechs patrolled area whilst using their optics to scan everything…even themselves.

"Scan complete, nothing to report." one said with it's synthesised voice, as Orion sneaked in and hid behind a cargo container near the now open door, being lucky to not be caught in the vision of one of the robots while it looked in his direction.

" _Where is Thane?_ " he thought before suddenly hearing metal hit the ground hard, so he peeked around the cover to see a deactivated Mech lying on the floor at the far end of the room with a bullet hole in the back of it's head.

' _Impressive._ '

"Correction, one of us has been hit." another Mech stated as it's attention was drawn to it's fallen comrade, it's red optics let out a beam of red light that enveloped the corpse as it walked over to it.

"One bullet hole to the back of it's cranium, alert status!" it then said, earning a simultaneous reaction from the rest of the robots as their lifted their rifles into ready positions. Suddenly just as lead Mech turned away from the corpse, Thane dropped down behind it and wrapped his arm around it's neck and used his free hand to grab its head and yank it sideward, snapping its neck. One of the other Mechs turned around and saw this, raising it's weapon at him in response. So the Drell held onto the deactivated roBot with one hand while equipping one of his pistols with the other and fired back at the enemy drone, blowing a hole in it's chest. This earned the attention of the other Mechs as they began firing back at him.

"Eliminate the intruder!" the robots said in unison before one had it's head blown off as Orion revealed himself, rushing the nearest Mech as he activated his holo-arm-blade with his free hand, slicing through it before the roBot could react.

"This earned a smile from Thane as dropped the metallic heap on the floor and dived behind the nearest shuttle for cover, while half of the remaining Mechs focused on him with their combined rifle fire. The other half turned on Orion, opening fire on him and causing the Autobot to take cover behind another cargo container next to him. But he still managed to return fire and take down two more Mechs, earning a smile from Thane who then climbed up onto the roof of the shuttle and fire down at the enemy drones, blowing holes in a few of them before they returned fire.

But he instead jumped down into the middle of the group and used both pistols for up close damage, firing bullets into their chests and heads whilst spinning around on the spot. The other group that had been focused on Orion had took notice of what the Drell was doing to their comrades and had switched their priorities, so the Bot ran out from cover and using both his arm-blades, sliced up the remaining enemy troops until only Thane and himself were left standing.

"That was impressive Orion, just like the day we fought back on Illium." the Drell said back, earning a smile from the Autobot.

"Thanks, though I have never met anyone with sneaking skills like yours." he replied humbly before an unfamiliar voice spoke from above them, gaining their attention.

"So Zero was right…"

Both Thane and Orion looked up to see Lockdown standing on the roof of the other shuttle, hold twin holo-katanas that were being powered by the holo-tools around both this forearms.

"Lockdown!" the Drell spat as he narrowed his eyes back, as the former Decepticon performed a somersault jump off the shuttle and landed in between the pair before pointing both blades at them.

"Thane? Why are you helping this Autobot?" he asked.

"Because I know what you did!" Thane replied, gaining a knowing expression from Lockdown.

"..Ah… I see, well it was business, it wasn't personal for me." he replied before the Drell gritted his teeth and leapt at him.

"Well this is personal to me!" he spat back as the Assassin swung a katana at him but Thane ducked under it before landing a punch directly into his enemy's chest, knocking him backwards. But Lockdown used the momentum to turn his attention to Orion and he made a swipe at the Autobot, who managed to block the attack with one of his holo-arm-blades. The former Decepticon followed through with a front kick that connected with Orion's stomach and sent him flying onto his back and out of the fight, so Lockdown returned his attention to Thane.

"What are you doing?" he spat with a curious tone as he saw the Drell activating his holo-tool, bringing up the orange glowing device on his left forearm.

"This!" he replied before lunging back at his enemy, who lunged back with his right holo-katana. But Thane brought up his holo-tool and blocked the strike before giving the former Con a smirk.

"Thanks." he said back just as the holo-katana suddenly disappeared from Lockdown's right hand and reappeared in the Drell's possession, earning a shocked look from him.

"What the?" he replied before Thane took a swipe at him, scratching the Assassin's armour as he narrowly dodged the attack.

"My holo-tool can mimic any holo-weapon it touches, I think it would be fitting to kill you with your own weapon." he said before he again lunged at Lockdown, who deflected the blade with his own.

"Don't get ahead of yourself Thane, I have lived through countless eons fighting. Do you think you have what it takes to end my spark?" he said as he pushed the Drell back, separating the two again.

"I do no such thing, but I believe that my late wife will help guide this blade and bring an end to your life, finally bringing her and myself some peace." Thane replied before the two continued to fight, clashing their blades together numerous times.

Meanwhile Liara and Kolyat ran into the shuttle-bay, before stopping as they saw Thane and Lockdown fighting.

"Dad!" the little Drell shouted, earning his Father's attention as he deflected the former Decepticon's blade again.

"Kolyat, follow Liara into one of the shuttles." he said back as the Asari saw Orion getting back to his feet.

"Orion, Mechs were right behind us." she said while leading the child into the room as they ran toward the nearest shuttle, earning a nod from the Bot who readied his pistol.

"I'll cover you." he said before shooting a bullet into the chest of the first roBot to enter through the double doors, making it fall to the ground as the others took cover behind it.

Liara then opened the hatch of the shuttle before lifting Kolyat off the ground and into the small vessel's interior.

"Two minutes until power-core breach." the computer's voice spoke over the inter-com as Orion fired back at the door and killed another Mech, before his attention was caught by a grenade hanging of the utility belt of one of the dead robots lying near him.

"Liara cover me!" he shouted, earning a nod from the Asari who fired biotic blasts from her right hand at the doorway, pinning the Mechs to their cover on the other side. So Orion ran over to the body and picked up the grenade, and as Liara continued to assault the door with her biotic projectiles, even making one Mech slam back into corridor wall. The Blue haired Bot tapped the button on the top of the device and threw it through the open doorway before diving behind another cargo container.

"Fire in the hole!" he shouted, making his Asari friend erect a barrier around her and the shuttle hatch just before the grenade exploded, destroying the Mechs in the corridor. The force of the blast also knocked both Thane and Lockdown to the ground, halting their fight as both tried to recover. But the former Decepticon was the first to his feet as he laughed whilst standing over the Drell.

"Looks like your 'wife' isn't listening Thane." he said with a sarcastic tone as he lifted his holo-katana, readying to deliver a killing stroke. But just as he began to drive the blade downwards, Orion suddenly tackled him to the ground.

"Oh no you don't." he said as he began punching the Assassin in the face repeatedly, giving the Drell the time he need to get back to his feet. But his eyes widened as something came to mind.

' _I forgot about that!_ ' he thought as he raised his hand to the small device on his forehead.

As that was happening, Lockdown managed to block one of Orion's punches and grabbed his arm.

"I have had enough of you Autobot!" he spat before punching him in the face with his free hand, earning a grunt from the blue haired Bot before Lockdown followed through with a swipe of his holo-katana which made the younger man dodge by rolling off him and back to the ground into a kneeling position.

"The feeling is mutual." he said back as Lockdown got to his feet and readied himself to attack again, but Orion's eyes caught his attention as he looked behind the Assassin. So he spun around just in time to see Thane lunge at him with his holo-katana, making Lockdown swipe his own weapon in return. But his eyes widened in shock as his blade passed harmlessly through the Drell, like he was a ghost or something.

"How?" he began to say before suddenly feeling a sharp white-hot pain in his chest, so he looked down to see the holo-katana that Thane had stolen had been driven through his body.

"This is for my wife." the Drell said back coldly as he twisted the blade round in the former Decepticon's wound, making him grimace as he looked back at him. His eyes noticed the device blinking with green and blue LEDs on his adversary's forehead and smiled back.

"A 'Phase-Shifter', well…play…" he began to say with what could be described as a hint of respect in his voice, but Thane did not want to hear any more as his anger got the better of him. So the Drell ripped the katana from the former Decepticon's chest, causing blood to spill out on to the floor as he spun around and sliced the enemy's head clean from his body, and it bounced onto the ground as the rest of the Con's body joined it.

Thane stood there and looked down at the headless body lying before him, his face finally looking satisfied as he sighed with Orion just stood there and watched.

"Warning, one minute until power-core breach." the computer's voice suddenly spoke out over the inter-com, regaining the attention of both men before another voice did the same.

"Orion, Thane, lets go!" Liara shouted, earning a nod from them as they turned and ran to the shuttle before climbing in via it's open hatch.

"Okay everyone, strap yourselves in." the blue haired Bot said as he sat down beside Liara in the pilot's seat, while Thane strapped his son into one of the passenger seats before doing the same himself. Kolyat gave his Father the most warm and happy smile he had seen in a long time. But before either could say a word, Liara spoke first.

"You know when this ship goes up, there is no guarantee that we will be able to outrun the shockwave from the explosion." she said with a worried tone, though Orion merely shook his head in return as he pressed numerous buttons on the green holo-interface before him.

"We'll just have to hope for the best then, won't we." he said while activating the shuttle's engines and then lifted the small vessel off the deck, while also opening the bay doors and revealing the stormy atmosphere outside.

Meanwhile Vasir arrived at the shuttle-bay to see numerous Mech body parts lying around it's entrance with the walls scorched by what appeared to be an explosion.

' _What the…?_ ' she began to think before her attention was drawn to the sound of a ship taking off, so the Asari entered the room to see one of the two shuttles flying out of the ship.

"Damn it!.." she spat while looking around and spotting Lockdown's headless corpse lying a few feet away next to the other shuttle.

"...I was too late." she added before limping towards the other shuttle, just as the computer spoke up again through the inter-com.

"thirty seconds until power-core breach."

This earned a wide eyed expression from Vasir as she ran to the second shuttle and opened it's hatch.

A few seconds later elsewhere on the ship, Hock ran through the corridors in a panic as he looked for what he could only hope was a way to escape what was coming.

"There has to be a way off this ship!" he spat while he continued down the hallway before noticing there was only a right hand turn ahead.

' _Haven't seen that one yet, this looks hopeful._ ' he thought as he turned the corner, only for him to stop and stare in wide-eyed disbelief. For before him was a dead end, just as the computer spoke again through the inter-com which left the Arms dealer with a sense of dread creeping through his soul.

"Ten seconds, nine, eight, seven, six….." it said in a synthetic tone, as Hock felt his eyes tearing up.

"I don't want to die." was all he could say before the computer finished the countdown.

"….one, zero." it said before the ship suddenly shook rather violently from an internal explosion, which knocked Hock to the ground before he heard what sounded like a fireball quickly coming towards him.

"No, No, No!" he stuttered in a fearful tone as said fireball shot round the corner and enveloped him before the Shadow Broker's ship exploded.

"That's it, the ship just exploded, and I am detecting a shock-wave approaching us at a speed greater than what this shuttle is capable of." Liara stated in a worrying tone as she looked down at the holo-screen in front of her, while Orion kept his attention on flying the craft while watching the clouds and storm carry on around them.

"We just have to reach the edge of the atmosphere, give me all the power this shuttle has and channel it into the engines. Take it from life support if you have too." he said to the Asari, earning a nod from her as she typed on her interface. But still as the shuttle ascended through the dense and chaotic atmosphere of the planet, the shock-wave from the now destroyed Shadow Broker base continued to gain on them.

"It's no use, the wave is still faster than we are. It will hit us in less than twenty seconds." Liara said back before looking over to Orion as she reached out with her hand, so the Bot looked back and took hers in his hand before turning his attention to the Father and Son sitting behind them.

"I'm sorry." he said with a sad and accepting tone, earning a nod from Thane who then looked over to Kolyat and placed his hand on the back of the younger Drell's head and kissed his forehead.

"I love you Kolyat." he said in a soft voice, gaining a warm smile from the unbeknownst boy who could not understand what was happening around him.

"I love you too Dad." he replied, earning a smile from Thane that he found hard to keep since he knew what was coming.

"Close your eyes my Son." he said back, and watched as Kolyat did just that. Orion could not help but feel sad after seeing that as he returned his attention to Liara, so he just looked her in the eyes and gently squeezed her hand affectionately. The Autobot took a deep breath as the Asari stared back, as their waited for the inevitable to happen.

"Liara, I.." he started to say, earning a knowing smile from her in return.

"I know…" she began to reply before suddenly a shadow was cast over the shuttle, darkening the interior and gaining their attention.

"What is that?" Liara said while Orion smiled as he looked up through the glass canopy in front of them, making the Asari give him a confused expression.

"What is it?" she asked, before a familiar voice spoke through the shuttle's inter-com.

"You guys look like you need a lift?" Jetstorm said, gaining simultaneous sighs of relief from all the adults on board the shuttle as Orion pressed a button on his holo-interface.

"Great timing, get us out of here." he replied as the Normandy descended over the shuttle as the shock-wave was almost upon them.

"Hold on." the pilot said back before the frigate scooped up the shuttle into it's open shuttle-bay, and then proceeded to ascend back up into high orbit, outrunning the shock-wave which slowly dissipated as the Autobot ship left the planet's atmosphere.

"Everyone alright." Orion asked as he looked at first to Liara and then to the two Drell, with the older one nodding back in return.

"Yes, thank you Orion." Thane replied before his son got up out of his chair and looked out of the shuttle's canopy to see the landing ramp close and re-seal itself.

"Where are we?" the boy asked enthusiastically as he held onto his toy ship, which earned a smile from the Bot and Asari.

"You know your favourite ship?" Liara asked, gaining Kolyat's attention as he nodded back.

"Yeah…"

"Well your standing in one just like it." she added, which made the boy's eyes widen in wonder as an infectious smile appeared on his face.

"Cool."

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Not long after, a ground-bridge portal opens up and Orion, Liara, Thane and Kolat step through to find themselves back on Earth. The older Drell looked around to see that they were standing on landing pad on top of a mountain, which is surrounded by a desert and similar rock formations.

Where are we?" Thane asked as the vortex closed behind them.

"This is Autobot Outpost Omega One, it was the first Autobot base on Earth and has been in operation since the last days of the Cybertronian Civil war." Orion replied, gaining a smile from Kolyat who stood beside his father and marvelled at his surroundings.

"An Autobot base…wow!" he exclaimed before the blue haired Bot knelt in front of him.

"Kolyat, could have a moment with your Dad. Liara will keep you company in the meantime?" he asked, gaining a nod from the child.

"Okay." he said in an innocent tone before walking over to Liara who began pointing out sights to him, so Orion got back to his feet and looked back to Thane.

"I am sorry that we have to drop you off here, I would have liked to take the both of you back to Kahje. But with the Intel Liara gained from the Shadow Broker about the Predacons gathering around Virmire, we have been recalled to New Iacon for repairs and new orders." he said, gaining an appreciative smile from the Drell.

"I understand Orion, I am very grateful for everything you have already done. Because had it not been for you and Liara, I would still be working for the Shadow Broker and would probably never have seen my Son again. But instead I now have Koylat and I found out that Lockdown was the one murdered my wife. And he has paid for that with his life….though, I would of liked to make him suffer for a bit longer if we had the time." he replied with a hint of regret in his voice, which the blue haired Bot noticed.

"Are you alright?"

"In my life I have always strived to kill my marks in a quick and clean manner. I never questioned if they should die, instead I believed that it was fate's choice which brought them into my sights. But with my dear Irikah's murder, I found myself wanting to kill those responsible and make them hurt for as long as I possibly could. So I find myself at a loss with how Lockdown's end came about." Thane said back, gaining a nod from Orion.

"I can understand that." he replied, making the Drell look at him with a knowing expression.

"I sense that you do, forgive my asking but this is because of your Parents isn't it?"

The Autobot nodded in return as he looked out at the desert around them.

"Yes, they are the prisoners of Galvatron. As far as I know, he has tortured them both and I want nothing more but to make him pay for that…" he replied before looking to the ground with a shamed expression.

"..but I am in a position of command and cannot let my need for payback get in the way of the mission." he added, which made Thane place his hand on the Autobot's shoulder in support.

"I do not claim to know you well Orion, but I have seen enough to believe that you can find a balance between your duty and your need to avenge your parents. I know it is possible to have both." he said while looking over to his Son, who was still marvelling at the wilderness around him as Liara watched. Orion looked over too and nodded in return, giving off a sigh as he did.

"Thank you Thane." the Bot replied as he held out his hand, to which the Drell took in his own and shook while Liara and Kolyat returned to their side.

"No, thank you. You have given my back my life and my Son…" he said as he placed his hand on the little Drell's head, earning a grateful smile from him.

"…and peace of mind. For that…. I would like to offer my services to you in this war, as your enemies are now my mine." he said, but Orion smiled and shook his head in return.

"I appreciate that Thane, but like you just said, you have been reunited with your Son. So you should stay with him, we can handle the Predacons."

"Yeah Dad, I mean they are Autobots. They can handle anything." Kolyat suddenly spoke up with an enthusiastic tone, gaining the adults attention as they looked down at him and smiled. But instead of going shy, the young Drell just became more confident.

"When I grow up, I want to be an Autobot." he declared, which made Orion kneel down in front of him and place his hand in his trouser pocket.

"You certainly are brave enough, and if your anything like your Father, then I don't doubt that one day you will join our ranks. So in the meantime I want to give you this…" the Bot said as he placed an item in Kolyat's hand, making the youngster look down to see that it was an Autobot emblem, which made him look back in surprise.

"…and make you an Honorary Autobot...until you of age." he finished, which made the child's smile even wider as he saluted the blue haired man.

"Yes sir."

Thane chuckled in return as he looked down at his ecstatic son before returning his attention to both Bot and Asari,

"You've just made my Son's day, thank you. I will honour your wishes, but if you ever need help, you know how to find me."

"And me." Kolyat added, earning a smile from everyone.

"Take care of yourselves. You will need for nothing while staying at this base," Liara said, gaining a nod from Thane,

"Thank you, same to you,"

Orion then tapped his com-link.

"We're ready." he said before another green vortex opened behind them, with the pair turning face to it. The Bot though looked back at Kolyat.

"Watch the sky, you're going to like what comes next." he said with a smile, earning a curious expression from the child before stepping into the portal with the Asari. Both Thane and his Son watched as the Ground-bridge closed, when suddenly Kolyat spotted something coming out of the clouds and moving toward them.

"Dad look!" he exclaimed as the pair saw the Normandy fly up to the mountain before circling above them both.

"Wow." the young Drell said with amazement as he looked up at the Autobot ship, recognising it as his favourite. Thane just smiled and enjoyed seeing his son's reaction as the ship then took off and did a barrel roll before flying away at top speed, leaving Kolyat breathless at what he had just witnessed.

"Dad, I definitely want to be an Autobot." he stated, as his Father placed his hand on the boy's shoulders.

"We'll see when you are older Kolyat." he replied before noticing two Autobots stepping out of the elevator to greet them.

"Come on my Son, let's go." he then said while taking his Son's hand in his own, and together they walked over to and were greeted by the Autobots.

Meanwhile on the other side of the galaxy, a damaged shuttle drifted slowly through the cold void of space. The interior of the vessel was dimly lit as Vasir sat in the pilot's chair, looking out at the star-field through the glass canopy in front of her. The Asari's expression was one of deep anger and reflection as she kept her hands on the holo-interface, and even though her eyes were fixed on what was ahead. her thoughts remained focused on only one thing.

' _Benezia, I swear that I will make Liara pay for what she did to us. For betraying and murdering you, and for destroying my life as I knew it. I will make you proud and rebuild what we have lost…. and even if it takes the rest of my life, I will see to it that Liara and everyone she holds dear suffers….this I swear to you._ 'she thought as a dark smile began to form on her lips.

 


	38. Chapter 38

' _We are so close._ ' Galvatron thought as he stood in one of the Nemesis's corridors, looking out at the blue and green world of Virmire through a window before him.

' _But what is taking so long? We have been here for a few days now, and have every ship in the fleet spread out around this planet. Surely they would have detected something by now?_ ' he thought with an aggravated tone before the Con felt a familiar presence around him.

" **Patience my herald, 'our' destiny is still ours to take. Before this day passes, the Infinite Combinatoric will be within our grasp.** '

' _Yes my Master, forgive my impatience. I just can't help but feel that the longer this takes, the higher the chance of the Autobots discovering our location._ ' Galvatron thought back, as he continued to feel Unicron in his mind.

" **You did everything necessary to stop them from discovering your movements, am I correct?** " the Chaos Bringer replied, earning a nod from the Predacon.

' _Yes Master, we deleted our old communication frequencies and added extra protection to our new ones so that the enemy could not gain access again._ '

" **Then you can relax, because I believe you will get the answer you seek sooner than you think. You should start your preparations….** " Unicron said back before fading away again, leaving Galvatron to look out of the window with a confused expression.

' _What do you mean Master?….Master?_ ' he thought before realising he was alone again, gaining a frustrated sigh from him in return.

"My Lord Galvatron?" another familiar voice suddenly spoke from behind the Predacon Leader, which made him turn round to see Vertabreak standing there.

"Yes, Vertabreak. What is it?" he replied with a slightly surprised tone and expression.

"Is everything alright my Lord? Because Commander Rip-Claw has been trying to contact you for the last few minutes, but received no answer from your com-link." the younger Predacon said back, which made Galvatron tap his ear-piece and reactivate it.

"Ah yes, I forgot that I deactivated it earlier. So I guess you were sent to find me instead?"

"Yes my Lord, I am to relay a message." Vertabreak replied with a tone which was both eager and nervous before going silent.

"Well don't keep it to yourself Vertabreak, what is it? The Predacon Leader answered, earning a breath from his lieutenant.

"…The Commander wishes for you to know that after numerous scans, our low-level search of Virmire's surface has found something."

Galvatron's eyes widened as his curiosity peaked.

"Found what?"

"I do not know the details my Lord, but the Commander does." the lieutenant said back, earning a nod from the Predacon Leader.

"Well I will head to the CIC then, thank you for the message….dismissed." he then said, gaining a salute from the younger Con before both separated and walked off in opposite directions.

Once in the CIC, Galvatron walked along the catwalk and join Rip-Claw who stood at the forefront, manning the galaxy-map and terminal located there.

"I got your message Rip-Claw, report your findings." the Predacon Lord stated, gaining a nod from the Femme who then tapped a sequence into the holo-interface's keypad before stepping aside, allowing her master to look at the large holo-screen which appeared before both of them. It showed a map of the planet and it's continents, as a red dot appeared on the eastern side of it's equator.

"As you can see my Lord, after our fleet's scans of the planet came up empty. I decided that we should use our fighters to perform a low-level search of it's surface, and that is when we found this." she said while pointing up at the red dot on the screen.

"What is it?" Galvatron asked as his eyes focused on it.

"It appears to be a structure of some kind, which has a metallic signature that is not recognised alongside the metals that the planet has been surveyed for in the past. And it is also inside that mountain." the Femme replied as she tapped another button on the holo-interface, which made the map turn into a three dimensional image of the area and showed the mountain and the red dot's location within it.

"I see, so we will have to tunnel to it then." Galvatron said, gaining a nod from Rip-Claw.

"Yes my Lord, we could have one of our cruisers fire upon the mountain…" she began to answer before the Predacon Leader gestured for her to stop with a wave of his hand.

"No, I have a better idea." he said before stepping in front of the terminal's holo-interface and typing away.

"..ugh, yes my Lord?" the Femme replied with a confused expression before an image of the Nemesis appeared on the screen, which had it's armaments highlighted on ship and listed on its right.

"Along with our torpedo launchers and cannons, the Nemesis also has these particle beam turrets." Galvatron said as he pointed at those particular weapons, gaining a nod from Rip-Claw.

"Yes, these are the most powerful weapons in the Nemesis's arsenal. But they also create an incredible strain on our power systems, so they can only be used when absolutely necessary." the lieutenant added, earning a thoughtful expression from the Predacon Leader as he worked on the holo-interface, bringing back the three dimensional image of the mountain and it's surroundings to the screen.

"That valley on the south side of the mountain, we could land the Nemesis there right?" he asked, earning a curious look from Rip-Claw, who then examined the site.

"Yes, the geography of the area shows it to be relatively flat and stable. Yes the Nemesis could land there, why do you ask my Lord?" she replied.

"Because once on the ground, we can use the ship's engines to power the particle beam turrets and use them to burrow through the mountain and create a tunnel to reach 'whatever' is at its center." Galvatron said back, which made the Femme nod back in agreement as she saw where he was coming from.

"And we could also defend the area from attack, should the Autobots discover our location."

"Plus they would have to fight their way past our entire fleet before even coming up against the Nemesis's defences." he added.

"Ingenious my Lord, if it is what you wish then I will have the Nemesis begin it's descent to those coordinates." Rip-Claw said back, earning a nod from the Predacon Lord who smiled back.

"Make it happen…Commander."

Hearing this made the Femme smile as she felt a surge of confidence within her spark.

"Yes my Lord, it will be done." she said back before looking down at the Terracon pilot below them.

"Prepare for atmospheric entry, we are going to land the Nemesis." she said, to which the Terracon acknowledged before returning his attention to his station.

"I am going to organise the landing party which will be accompanying me on the surface, so at this time you have the CIC." Galvatron then said as he turned around and began walking back down the catwalk towards the exit, leaving the Femme who smiled before returning her attention to the Terracons below.

Meanwhile in the science laboratory, Shockwave was standing over the unconscious form of Ser-Ket who was lying on the berth in front of him. He had his holo-tool active and ran it over her body, before smiling as he looked at the result on the device's holo-screen.

' _Excellent, Ser-Ket's vitals are steady and all her injuries are healed._ ' he thought as his eyes took in the information on the screen, he then turned it off and picked up a syringe and injected it into her neck and released it's contents into her bloodstream.

' _Time to wake up._ '

The Decepticon then watched as the Femme slowly came too, hers eyes opening and beginning to focus as she looked around the room with a confused expression.

"…where…am I?" Ser-Ket said aloud before her attention fell upon the one-eyed man staring down to her, recognising him despite his injury.

"You are safe Ser-Ket, it has been a long time." the Con scientist replied in an emotionless tone, earning a further confused look from the Femme.

"Shockblast, what are you talking about? And what happened to your eye?" she asked in return, looking completely bewildered at her current situation as she attempted to sit up, only for him to gently push back down onto the berth.

"You are still weak, it is not logical for you to over-exert your self in your current condition, even if your injuries have been healed." he said back with what looked to Ser-Ket like a concerned expression, though it was hard to tell with his emotionless delivery.

"I wasn't expecting this kind of treatment, especially since I betrayed you all." she replied, still confused by it all. This made the Decepticon nod back in return, before looking at her with his remaining eye.

"The fact that the body I now inhabit is far different and inferior to my original, it is only logical that you would not recognise me. And I also found evidence of your neural net being tampered with after probing your mind with the cortical psychic patch."

"Your not making any sense Shockblast…" the Femme said back before a thoughtful expression appeared on her face.

"..what do you mean…. my neural net tampered?"

The Decepticon Scientist then activated his holo-tool and brought up two images of the Predacon's mind.

"The image on the left is how your neural net looked when I created you, and the one on the right was taken when you were brought back on-line by Galvatron and Shockblast." he then added while pointing at the differences between the two.

"They are different because your memories have been altered since then, most likely so that you would believe you're actually a Predacon."

Ser-Ket just looked back at him with an expression that was getting more confused by the second, which made her shake her head in response.

"I don't get this Shockblast, what are you on about?" she asked whilst looking back at the Decepticon Scientist, who merely stared back at her.

"My name is not Shockblast." he said back with an ever so small slither of annoyance to his voice.

"Then what is it?" the Femme snapped, showing that her pertinence was about to break.

"I am Shockwave, former first lieutenant to Lord Megatron in all scientific endeavours that strengthened the Decepticon cause. I now serve Lord Galvatron in a similar role."

The Femme's eyes widened as she recognised the name, before looking the man in front of her up and down in disbelief.

"Shockwave! How…?"

The Con gave her what looked like a smile, which from someone who prided himself on logic and being emotionless was something to behold.

"I believe it is what Humans call 'a long story.' and it would not be logical to waste time repeating it. I will just say that I have been given a second chance, and I intend to use it."

"So what is to happen to me, because I'm surprised that I am still alive?" Ser-Ket then said, gaining a nod from the Decepticon.

"Indeed. And as I said earlier, I have probed your mind and seen what you have done since your reawakening. It troubles me to see the choices that have brought you here, betraying your comrades for an Autobot and because of 'love' of all reasons, so highly illogical."

"Who said love was logical, I certainly will not apologise for it. You must also have seen my questioning of Galvatron's leadership and of the other Predacons, I never felt like I was one of them."

The Decepticon Scientist nodded in return as he used his holo-tool and brought up more images of her mind onto his screen.

"Yes, and I believe I have an answer for that. The only logical way to explain the bizarre behaviour you have exhibited since your reawakening. I believe that this all stems from your new-found belief that you are actually a Predacon, which is wrong on not one, but two counts."

This made the Femme cock her head with another confused stare, as she looked at the holo-screen and then back at the Con.

"You said that before, what do you mean?"

"The first count is the memory alterations that Shockblast, my predecessor did to you so that you would fit in more with your fellow Predacons. This made you feel out of place, considering that these alterations hindered your 'truer' nature and personality from taking hold, which then led into count two, for which I am at fault."

"Shockwave, I do not understand." the Femme replied with hint of worry in her voice at what he was telling her.

"Shockblast was under pressure to bring Lord Galvatron his Predacon army quickly and he misinterpreted my notes on Project Predacon, namely yours for he believed that you were a Predacon clone given the wiped neural net of a Decepticon volunteer. So that the increased intelligence would diminish your species natural primitive instincts, but he was wrong." the Con said as he brought up images showing an unknown Cybertronian Femme lying on a berth, and along side it were more images of Predacon bones and CNA.

"What really occurred was that a Decepticon volunteer had her CNA spliced with that of a Predacon, to create a more stable and formidable warrior to stand up against my earlier failures...the Dinobots."

Ser-Ket remained speechless as she stared at the screen, for she could not believe what she was hearing, but Shockwave continued regardless.

"But I made an error, because I recently discovered the CNA used was not of Predacon origin. But it was instead from one of their rivals, for which I still do not know the name of. It was from the bones of a beast that had it's wings forcibly removed. I believe that it was characteristics from whoever this beast was and the altering of your memories that caused you to feel apart from the other Predacons." he added, before noticing the wide-eyed stare from Ser-Ket.

"I am a… Decepticon?"

Yes…" Shockwave replied as he brought up a clearer image of the Cybetronian that had appeared earlier, she had a large build for a Femme and was covered in heavy black, purple and silver armour.

"…your real name is….Strika."

Ser-Ket stayed quiet for a moment as what Shockwave had said sunk into her mind, but the Predacon could not accept it as she shook her head in return.

"No, no, I don't believe it." she said back defiantly, but the Con Scientist just stared back with a blank expression before walking round her berth and bending down at it's side.

"Then I will just have to show you the truth." he replied before standing back up, revealing himself to be now carrying a cable with a device at either end that looked similar to a diadem.

"What is that?" the Femme asked with an unsure tone as her eyes fixed on what was in Shockwave's hands.

"This is the most recent update to the Cortical psychic Patch, and it will allow me to show you memories which will prove that I am telling you the truth." he sad back before placing one of the devices onto Ser-Ket's head, and then the other on his own.

"There will be some discomfort as our minds join, be warned." Shockwave added before tapping a button on the side of his own device, which suddenly made the Femme's head feel like it was about to explode as memories began flooding her mind. She saw the Decepticon Femme called Strika, the one that Shockwave claimed her to be and witnessed her leading Megatron's forces during early years of the War for Cybertron. The Decepticon General was an unrelenting monster who took joy in killing as many Autobots as humanly possible, it was a sight that made the Predacon-Femme feel physically sick before the barrage of violent memories changed and depicted the time when Strika volunteered for Shockwave's experiment and was transformed into Ser-Ket, but with the memories of her past life. Then the memories stopped as a quick flash of white light enveloped her eyes before she found herself staring at the walls of the laboratory, while Shockwave removed the patch from her head.

"So you see, Ser-Ket may be your name now but you were always Strika in your spark, and that was lost when Shockblast re-awakened you." he said while noticing that the Femme still had a look of denial on her face, so Shockwave took the cable and head devices and placed them on the table nearby.

' _It can't be true, I could not see myself being so blood thirsty and cruel._ ' she thought as the images continued to play in her mind.

' _This has to be a deception of some kind, I am a Predacon._ '

Shockwave turned back to her and sighed, for he could see it in the Femme's face that she was not going to accept the truth.

' _It is an extremely low probability that Ser-Ket will come to accept the information about her past and wish to rejoin our cause, so I am left with only one other option to work with._ ' the Decepticon thought before he began walking over towards the Lab's exit.

"I will return in a short while Ser-Ket, the restraints will keep you from attempting to escape in the mean time."

Shockwave then walked through the door, leaving the Predacon Femme restrained to the berth and unable to move. But at this time, escape was the last thought on her mind as she was still being plagued by the memories of who the Decepticon was claiming her to be. So Ser-Ket just lowered her head as a single tear ran down her cheek as her eyes began to well up.

' _I cannot be her, I just can't be._ '

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

A day earlier _…._

The city of New Iacon was still in the early stages of repair as the midday sun shone down upon it from the cloudless blue sky overhead, and the Normandy was docked to the outer ring of one of the surviving Autobot command towers that was located on the western outskirts of the city. The ship had numerous repair bots and engineering crews working on it's hull as they were repairing it's hull, Orion could see it all from the room he was standing in at this moment as he looked out from the window before him.

"The Normandy's going to be fine Orion…" Rodimus suddenly said, gaining the blue haired Bot's attention as he turned around and looked over to his friend and mentor, who was sitting in a hover-chair just aways from him.

"..the Engineering crew has assured me that the ship will be combat ready inside of a day, though I wish we had a little longer so that she would be like new. But since the Predacon fleet is gathering around Virmire, I guess a patch-up job is all we can afford." the Commander added as his XO gave him a concerned look.

"I am glad you are here Rodimus, but surely you should still be recovering in the Medical bay?" Orion replied, gaining a slightly annoyed expression from the older Bot.

"I appreciate your concern Orion, but I would rather do something than just lie down on a berth and watch everyone else around me fight, plus I thought you would want my help."

"I do Rodimus, believe me I do. But you did get your chest sliced open a few days ago." the XO said back.

"That's true and had it not been for Red-Alert, I would probably be one with the All-Spark now. The fact that she managed to help both myself and Smokescreen, even after receiving the news that she had is a testament to her dedication and ability." Rodimus said back with a thoughtful look, earning a mirrored expression from Orion who nodded back.

"I heard Red-Alert was going to visit the Memorial Wall."

"Yes, she has been allowed to add Long-Arm's plaque to the rest of our honoured dead, since he died trying to rescue the civilians of Omicron Colony from the Predacons. She also told me that she will light a lantern-spark for him at the 'Well of All-Sparks' temple." the Commander replied.

"I know the Well has been dormant since the end of the Reaper War, but I didn't realise that it had become a temple." Orion said back with a curious tone.

"Every Cybertronian knows that when we die, our sparks return to the All-Spark. And that before it became dormant, the Well was the physical representation of the path each of our sparks must take to return to the All-Spark, so that the cycle of life can continue anew. Now in reality the Spark simply disappears and reaches there all by itself, but people like to believe that they can in some way help those they have lost, by lighting a lantern-spark which then descends into the well, lighting the way for their lost one's spark and guiding it back into paradise."

Orion crossed his arms as he thought about it for a moment, before looking back at the Commander.

"Do you believe in that Rodimus?"

"Yes, yes I do…." the older Bot replied with a nod.

"..I did the same thing after the death of my Brother, Hotrod."

"I'm sorry." Orion said back, gaining a nod of appreciation from Rodimus.

"I have a feeling many more will be lighting lantern-sparks before our conflict with Predacons is over." the Commander added as he looked up at his XO.

"That is why we both agreed that the crew should have the day off…" Rodimus continued, earning a nod from the blue haired Bot as a solemn expression appeared on his face as the Commander continued.

"..so that they can spend it however they want, for example with friends and family. Because with the fight that is coming, I'm having a hard time seeing us all coming through it unscathed."

"I understand, believe me I do. We both got a real beating from Galvatron and his Predacons, but I am not going to throw in the towel." Orion said back with a serious tone and expression, earning a taken aback look from Rodimus.

"I'm not going to either, or else I would have stayed in bed. But I'm just pointing out how bloody the battle is going to get, especially since the Predacons have their entire fleet positioned around Virmire."

"Well, with the evidence that Liara gave the Autobot High Command, I can't see us having a hard time convincing them to send the entire fleet with us when we face them."

A half smirk appeared on Rodimus's face as he looked up at Orion.

"Orion, your just like your Father." he said back, earning a slightly embarrassed look from the younger Bot.

"I'll take that as compliment."

"Good, you should. Now then, surely the High Command should have an answer for us by now?" the Commander replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice, as Orion looked at the time of his holo-tool.

"Yeah, you would think that with the enemy fleet now in one sport, they would want to move on this as quickly as possible." he said back, while Rodimus looked back at the door leading out of the room.

"I thought Liara would be here though, it is her Intel after all."

But Orion looked away as a concerned and thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

"Liara wasn't feeling that great, so I told her we could handle this ourselves." he said while looking back out of the window, so not to let his friend see the concern on his face.

' _Liara has been quiet ever since we dropped Thane and his son off, no…in fact it has been since leaving Hagalaz.'_ he thought as the Asari took up his attention while watching the transports fly to and from the damaged part of the city.

' _I was going to ask what her what was wrong, but haven't had the time to do so. I will see her as soon as we are done here._ ' he continued before Rodimus regained his attention.

"So where is Liara staying, with the others at the barracks?" he asked, making the younger Bot turn and face him.

"No, she is staying at my family's house right now. I was going to ground-bridge over once this meeting is done."

"Good idea, take advantage of the this quiet moment we have right now." the Commander replied as the door on the other side of the room opened, with a Turian stepping out to see them.

"Commander Rodimus and Orion Darby, they will see you now." he said, earning a nod from both men before they began to move toward the door. The Autobot Commander used the control panel on the left hand armrest of his hover-chair to navigate, gliding over the floor with Orion at his side as they left the waiting room and entered a larger spherical-shaped room. Several Admirals sat around a large black table which was shaped like a horse shoe, the group consisted of a Turian, Human, Asari, Krogan, Quarian, Drell, Hanar, Salarian and a Volus.

"Commander Rodimus, we have reviewed the Intel retrieved by Doctor Liara T'Soni and have come to a conclusion on what we must do next." the Turian Admiral said before looking over to his Asari counterpart.

"We all agree that the Predacon threat must be stopped and with their forces all in one place, this will be the perfect opportunity to see it done." she added.

"So prior to our seeing you, we have just sent orders out to all Autobot ships with orders to head to these specified coordinates that are only one jump away from Virmire. Once there, the fleet will jump to the planet and engage the Predacon fleet." The Human Admiral then said as he tapped the holo-interface next to him, which brought up a holo-image of Virmire and the Predacon fleet surrounding it in the center of the table.

"We will also land ground troops to stop Galvatron from reaching whatever it is he is after down there." The Krogan Admiral said, which made Rodimus hold his hand up and gain their attention.

"This is a good plan, but I believe Orion here would like to make a suggestion." he said before looking to his younger friend, as did everyone else in the room.

"Yes, thank you Rodimus." the blue haired Bot replied before taking a step toward the Admirals.

"This is a good plan, but the Predacons will be dug in well and ready for any kind of ground attack."

The Geth Admiral narrowed his optic as he looked back at the Autobot Spectre.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Continue with the attack, but do it as a diversion." Orion replied, earning a curious expression from the Admirals.

"A diversion? For what?" the Quarian Admiral said back with a questioning tone, before the Bot activated his holo-tool which made a blue dot appear extremely close to the planet.

"So that the Normandy can space-bridge into Virmire's atmosphere and deploy a team led by myself, and together we can take out Galvatron while he and his forces are focused on you."

"That's an ambitious plan, do you agree with your XO, Rodimus?" the Human Admiral replied, earning a nod from the chair-bound Commander.

"I do." he said with a confident expression, which made the Admirals look at each other and nod in return.

"Very well, then we will have the fleet and the ground forces engage the Predacons." the Turian Admiral replied.

"The Normandy's repairs will take a day to complete, correct?" the Asari Admiral asked, gaining a nod from Rodimus.

"That is correct."

"It will take that much time for the fleet to assemble at the chosen coordinates anyway. In that case, we only have one other matter to discuss." the Human Admiral said before gesturing to the Hanar who used one of his tentacles to activate his holo-interface and change the image in the center of their table to that of two Asari with multiple screens around them.

"We were quite shocked to find out from Doctor T'Soni that the mysterious Shadow Broker was in fact one of our own Senators, Matriarch Benezia." the giant jellyfish said, its insides glowing with every word that it spoke. But both Commander and XO looked on in shock, Orion's eyes widening as he took in the information being fed to him while looking her holo-image.

' _Liara's Mother was the Shadow Broker, why didn't she tell me?_ ' he thought as the second image beside the Matriarch's focused into that of someone that Rodimus recognised as a familiar expression crossed his face as both he and Orion looked at the Intel that appeared on the screens surrounding the two Asari holograms. The pair could see data on all the plots that the Shadow Broker had planned, including the plague she intended to unleash on the Cybertronian race….it was sickening to think that either person could be capable of such acts. But the Commander was taken completely by surprise by who he saw beside the Matriarch.

"Tela Vasir, your telling me that she was working for the Shadow Broker?" he asked with a disbelieving tone, still coming to terms with the first bombshell which was Liara's Mother.

"Yes Rodimus, one of your very own Autobot Spectres has worked for the Shadow Broker for decades now according to Liara. With your permission as Leader of the Spectres, we want to revoke her Spectre status and brand her a public enemy of the Federation." the Quarian Admiral added, making the Autobot Commander nod back solemnly in return.

"Yes, I agree. I can not believe it, but if Liara says it's true and has this evidence to back her up….then yes, you have my permission."

"We are currently preparing an investigation into Matriarch Benezia's dealings as a Senator, to see how much damage she has actually inflicted in the last twenty-five years behind everyone's backs, which will go into full effect once the Predacon threat has been extinguished. So if there is nothing else, lets call this meeting adjourned." the Human Admiral replied before pressing a button on his holo-interface, deactivating the holo-image as everyone got up from their chairs and left the room as they followed the Commander and his XO.

"I still find it hard to believe that Vasir of all people was a traitor, I worked closely with her for years and yet all this time she was playing us and working for Benezia of all people..." Rodimus said, still with a hint of disbelief in his voice before looking over to Orion and noticing that he was still quiet since hearing the bombshell.

"...I guess I can understand why Liara wasn't feeling so good since Hagalaz.." he then added, earning the younger Bot's attention as he looked back.

"…Finding out that the person who raised you was actually a nasty piece of work like the Shadow Broker would take a lot out of you."

Orion nodded before taking a step towards the elevator, gaining a knowing look from the Commander.

"Where you going?"

"We have a big day tomorrow, so we should take this time to rest, because we'll all going to need to be at our best before we launch." the blue haired Bot replied, earning a reluctant smile from Rodimus.

"Yes, you are right there. So I take it you're going to see Liara." the older man said back, earning a nod from Orion.

"That's what I was planning to do, what about you?"

"I think I will visit my Brother, its been a while since the last time I did that." the older Bot replied, gaining a sympathetic expression from Orion.

"I see, do you know what the others are up too?"

"Well, Smokescreen is still recovering in the Medical Bay. Nightracer as gone to visit her Mother, while Shen said he was going to contact his parents who are both back on Rannoch. Quickstrike said he would keep Onyx Primal company after visiting his Mother in hospital, I managed to obtain permission for our resident Maximal to have the freedom to stretch his wings and fly around the city. I told the City's authorities that he has nothing to do with the Predacon dragons, but your Cousin said he would stay nearby and make sure Onyx would not get any unwanted attention."

"Right, some people might look up at the sky, see a flying metallic dragon and think the attack is happening all over again." the blue haired Bot replied before sighing.

"I'll see you tomorrow Rodimus." he then added, earning a nod from the Commander.

"Yeah, you too." he said back as he watched his XO walk up to the elevator and enter once it's doors opened.

Meanwhile at New Iacon's eastern edges, Quickstrike looked out at the green plains that surrounded most of the city. He was trying to enjoy the quiet moment, just standing there and admiring it's natural beauty as its greenery complemented the blue sky that was starting to vanilla as the sun began its descent behind the horizon. But the blonde Autobot's thoughts kept returning to Ser-Ket, the Predacon Femme who captured his spark after rescuing him from her brethren's clutches. He could not help but worry for what she may now be going through because of him, feeling guilt for not being able to save her, But before his inner torment could strain his spark more, the Bot's attention was drawn to the sound of large wings flapping in the evening air, so he looked up to see Onyx Primal in his beast mode soaring overhead. He watched as the beast flew around the plains ahead, before turning around and landing in front of him.

"Enjoy yourself Onyx?" Quickstrike asked as the Maximal transformed back into his bipedal mode and looked back at him, nodding in return.

"Yes I did, after spending the time I have in your cargo-bay, it is a nice change to be able to fly through the sky and enjoy the natural beauty of your world. And it is very beautiful, considering it is purely an organic world." the Cybertronian giant replied as he knelt down on one knee, gaining a faint smile from the Autobot in return.

"Yes it is." the Bot said back, earning a sympathetic expression from Onyx.

"You wish you could share this beauty with Ser-Ket, am I correct?" he asked, gaining a slow nod in return from Quickstrike.

"You are." the blonde man replied with a hint of sadness in his voice, while looking ahead at the sunset.

"You know we were all given the chance to spend this day with our loved ones, but my Mother is still in a coma and all I could do was sit and hold her hand in the silence of that room. And the woman I love is either a prisoner of the Predacons or no longer of this life, either way I feel empty inside. The only thing I want now is to make the Predacons pay for that they have done. I have been able to hide this from the others while we on a mission, but standing here with nothing else to think about but what has been taken from me by those monsters, Ser-Ket and my Father I want is to tear them apart." the blonde Bot said with a building slither of anger in his voice.

"I understand what you are going through Quickstrike, believe me I do..." the Maximal replied as he remembered the anguish and rage he felt for Airazor's death, which for him was only a short time ago despite the actual eons that had passed since the tragic event.

"...but you have to remain strong for your friends, for they will need you in the coming battle."

The Blonde Bot looked up At his friend and saw the sympathetic expression on his face, which made him feel somewhat better and less alone.

"..you do not yet know the fate of your spark-mate, so do not despair since there is every chance you may see her again." Onyx added, gaining a nod from Quickstrike in return.

"Your right." the blonde Bot replied as he looked over at the sunset, as the darkness of the coming night began to eat away at the light of the descending star. Onyx Primal turned around and joined his friend in the viewing before their attention was caught by something else.

"Excuse me?" a unfamiliar voice suddenly spoke up, making the pair turn around to see a Human Caucasian Woman with brown hair standing behind them. She looked up at the Maximal with amazement, while Quickstrike gave her a questioning expression.

"Can we help you?" he asked, gaining the Woman's attention.

"I hope so, my name is Ann Bryson and I am a scientist stationed in the Cybertronian Archives here in New Iacon."

"Bryson? Why does that name sound familiar?" Quickstrike replied, earning a confused look from Onyx while Anna returned her attention to the giant Bot.

"My Father was Doctor Garrett Bryson, he died during the Reaper War, while trying to find the Rogue Reaper known as Lucifer." she said whilst not taking her eyes off the Maximal, marvelling at his presence.

"I remember now, so how...can we help you?" the blonde Bot asked with an unsure expression and tone, having noticed the way she was staring at Onyx.

"Is there something on my face?" the giant Bot asked.

"I am sorry, it is just I have never had the chance to meet a Pre-Pretender form Cybertronian before. I had only heard the stories of how your people looked from my Father, so I never dreamed I would one day get to see one of you like this." Bryson replied with a tone that was half excitement and the other embarrassment, which gained a half smile from the Maximal.

"I see. Well then allow, me to introduce myself. My name is Onyx Primal, I am a former Predacon and Leader of the Maximals."

' _Maximals, never heard of them._ ' she thought as a curious expression appeared on her face.

"Then if you would do me an honour Onyx Primal, we know nearly nothing of the era of the Predacons. So if you would, please tell me your story?" Bryson asked with a hopeful tone, earning a thoughtful look from the Maximal, before he then knelt in front of her and smiled.

"Very well Ann Bryson." he replied, which made the Doctor's smile widen almost ear to ear with a quiet excitement while Quickstrike began to walk back away slowly, before Onyx noticed.

"Quickstrike, please stay. You may find what I am about to tell you both very illuminating."

"Alright, its been awhile since I heard a good old fashioned true story." the blonde Bot replied before both he and Bryson sat down on the grass and looked up at Maximal, whose blue optics began to glow brighter as the night took hold overhead.

"My story begins so very long ago, across the oceans of time that separate what you call the present from the distant past. It was a time of great change for my people as 'The Thirteen Primes', the ones who had guided us were now gone, leaving us to find our own path…." he began to narrate while the stars began to shine down from the night sky.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile night had already taken its hold over the Darby household as it stood there on the grassy hill overlooking the coast, then a swirling green vortex of the ground-bridge then opened up at the front porch. It's green light illuminating that side of the house before Orion stepped through, then a split second later the light was gone as the portal closed behind him, allowing the porch lights to dimly light his way as the Bot walked up the steps towards the house's front door. He had the look of a man who was in deep with his thoughts and concern while he took the door's handle in his grasp, looking down at it, but not really at it.

' _I still don't get why Liara didn't tell me, letting me hear it second hand instead._ ' he thought as he opened the door and entered his family home which still felt empty and sparse, considering his parents were still in the hands of Galvatron and his Predacons.

"Liara?" he said as he walked into the front room, only to find it empty and devoid of the blue beauty that had gained his affections during the course of the last few weeks. So he checked the Kitchen….but nothing, went up stairs and yet there was still no sign of her.

' _Where is she?_ ' he thought as he stopped at the bottom of the stairs and thought about where else to look, until a faint noise from just aways caught his attention, making the blue haired Bot walked back to the Kitchen and found that the back door had been left slightly open.

Orion left the interior of the house and stepped out into the vast area which was the family's backyard, but it was all as he had left it originally, with the training area untouched and this left him scratching his head more.

' _Okay, now I am getting worried._ ' he thought as he walked away from the house down towards the beach, before suddenly noticing Ravage lying on his front and staring in the same direction.

"Ravage, what are you doing here?" Orion said as he knelt down beside his old pet and friend, which made the feline look up at him and purr in as it rubbed it's head against the Bot's knee.

"Yeah I missed you too." the Autobot replied as he placed his hand on Ravage's head and stroked it's hair softly, making the former Decepticon purr again.

"Do you know where Liara is, Ravage?"

The feline looked up at him before turning it's and looking towards the beach, thus making Orion look in the same direction. His blue eyes widened as he spotted a lone Asari sitting on one of the sun lounger beds that his parents had put down there years earlier, since that particular spot was still several feet away from where the tide would come in at night. The Bot remembered that his Mother always did enjoy relaxing on one of them beds during a nice cloudless day, as did his Dad who would also sit down there and sift through his reports when he wasn't away at work. Orion smiled before looking down at his feline friend, placing his hand on the beast's back and giving it a rub.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on Liara pal, I'll take over now." he said, earning a soft whine from the family pet. Who simply lied his head down on the floor as Orion got to his feet and walked down towards Liara. As he made his way towards the Asari, further away from the synthetic lights of the family home. Orion could see her more clearer, thanks to the light coming from the bright full moon, which was rising up into the star filled sky. He could see that Liara was sitting upright on the lounger bed with her feet up against her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs, and she had not noticed his approach since the Asari was just staring out at the ocean which was reflecting the moon light back into sky with a ripple effect from the gentle waves.

"Liara?" Orion then said as he got within two feet of her, making the Asari look over to him with an almost startled expression. She really must have been deep in thought for her not to have noticed, since he knew that someone of her age would probably be hard to sneak up on…not that it was his intention though.

"Orion." she said back as the blue haired Bot sat beside her on the sun lounger bed.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked as he looked back at her, his eyes then widening as he noticed the wet streaks running down her cheeks from her eyes.

"I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts." she said as she looked back towards the ocean and wiped her cheeks with her hands, while Orion looked back with a concerned expression.

"This is to do with your Mother, doesn't it?" he asked, regaining the Asari's attention as she looked back in surprise.

"Why didn't you tell me that Benezia was the Shadow Broker?" the Bot said back, which made another tear run down her cheek, following the same path as the ones that had flowed before it.

"It's hard enough for me to come to terms with it myself, I didn't know how to tell you so.." Liara replied as she again wiped the tear away and looked back out at the ocean.

"…I thought that some time alone to think about it would allow me to make sense of it, but…." she added before stopping, earning a curious and concerned expression from the Autobot.

"But? But what?" Orion said back.

"But I can't help thinking that my Mother and I are more alike than I would like to think." the Asari said with shameful tone.

"What do you mean Liara, your nothing like Benezia." the blue haired Bot said back in a surprised tone, but Liara's eyes welled up as she looked down at the sand beneath her.

"Am I not? When our people fell during the Reaper War, my Mother let her anger for that slowly corrupt her heart. That anger became a rage and hatred for everyone she felt was responsible for that, and then dedicated herself to ridding them from the face of the galaxy and reclaiming the Asari's status as the Federation's Elite." she replied.

"I know Liara, I did see your Intel report. But how are you the same?" Orion said back with a questioning tone as he placed his hand down beside her own on the lounger bed's soft surface.

"I killed my own Mother and those responsible for my enslavement, wanting to make them pay for what they did to me. Those slavers for the torture they put me through, and my Mother for letting them do that to me." Liara said back, her voice tinged with both shame and anger, gaining a horrified look from Orion.

"Benezia? she knew what was happening to you?" the Bot replied as he looked down at her hand, placing his over hers in a sympathetic gesture as the Asari nodded back.

"Yes, my Mother knew. She told me that it was necessary, so that I would be more like her and in turn be ready to succeed her as the next Shadow Broker."

Orion did not know what to say as he watched Liara look back towards the ocean, tears slowly running down her cheeks as she began to sob. So with his free hand, the Bot touched the Asari's chin and gently turned her face back to his, with their eyes meeting as he looked into her own.

"Liara, you're nothing like your Mother…" he started to say back in a gentle and affectionate tone, which had ensnared her attention completely as she found herself simply staring back into his blue eyes.

"…the fact that you are feeling guilt and remorse for those who do not deserve it proves the opposite, it's that clear in my eyes." the Autobot continued as his hand moved from her chin to gently cup her face as he began to lean in towards her.

"You are one of the most caring people I have ever met Liara, you always put others before yourself and I can vouch for that."

"..Orion.." she started to say in return as she mirrored his actions and leaned in closer.

"I do not know what I would have done with everything that has happened to me recently, if you had not been here with me Liara." the young Darby continued, making the Asari's eyes widen as she listened to him.

"You have saved me in so many ways, and I don't think I have properly thanked you." he said as they now were so close, they could feel each other's breath on the other. So Orion closed the distance and pushed his lips against hers, earning a surprised but happy moan from the Asari as they kissed for a moment. And then he pulled away just enough to look her in the eyes, noticing that her tears had stopped as she looked back in to his, so he wiped aware the wetness with his

"Thank you Liara." he said softly as he looked at her lovingly, before she suddenly closed the distance and kissed him back the same way.

"What was that for?" he asked with a smile when they pulled away, earning a coy expression from the Asari.

"You saved me first, remember? We would never have met had you not rescued me from Hock to begin with. So thank you Orion…..now kiss me again." she said as they both smiled at each other as the Bot then cupped her face in both hands and leaned into each other, their lips meeting again as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him towards her more and intensifying their kiss. Which went on for a long moment as while they remained locked by their kiss as their lips caressed the other, making them feel as if time itself had stopped around them. But once the need for oxygen took precedence, the lovers pulled away enough to catch their breath while looking into each others eyes.

Liara then smiled as she moved her hands down the Bot's torso, enjoying the feeling of his muscles under his shirt before reaching its bottom and slipping her hands under it. The Asari bit her lip as she then pulled the top up, earning happy sigh from Orion as he lifted his arms and allowed her to lift the shirt off him in one easy motion and dropped it beside her on the sun lounger bed. Orion could not help but smile as he noticed Liara looking him up and down, taking every square inch of his muscular but yet athletic physique.

The Bot then pulled the Femme back into another passionate kiss, pressing his body up against hers as she placed her hands on his bare back, which made him shiver slightly as they were a little colder than expected. But he soon felt they warm while they explored his back, taking in the curves of his muscles that made up his back as they continued to kiss. Liara then pulled away slightly so that she could focus on his ear, nibbling it a little one of her hands moved up to the back of his head so that she could run her fingers through his blue hair.

So Orion took the opportunity to begin removing the Asari's clothing by taking hold of the zipper on the back of her top and pulling it down, exposing her blue skin and earning a slight gasp from her as she felt the cool night air touch it. The pair then pulled away just enough for the Bot to remove her top and reveal her beautiful athletic form and the edges of her breasts which were mainly covered by a dark blue bra which he then removed with ease.

' _He's definitely had some experience doing that._ ' Liara thought as she smiled back before letting her lover lay her on the back, feeling the soft cushion like material of the lounger bed beneath her as he hovered over her and looked deeply into her eyes. The only sounds they could hear were the waves behind them and their own breathing, which itself was only just out of sync, and then the Bot kissed Liara again before he then left a trail of kisses down her neck to her breasts before taking one in his hand, while the other went between his lips as he kissed and sucked it, gaining a sweet moan from the Asari as he gently massaged the nipple of her other breast with his fingers.

"Don't stop." she said as he then switched his focus to the other breast, kissing and licking it while freeing his hands which he moved down her body and over her stomach, feeling his way down to her trousers, which he then began to unzip and open while keeping his main focus on her breasts with his mouth, gaining further light moans of pleasure from Liara.

After a moment, while the Asari just lay there with her arms stretched out across the width of the bed, the Bot then left another trail of kisses from the peaks of her breasts down across her flat stomach which made her make the sweetest of giggles before he looked down at her open trousers. The Asari looked back at him and made the most coy of expressions as she took in the image of his naked upper half lit up by the light of the full moon in the night sky, before she then lifted her legs in the air and made it easier for him to remove her trousers and underwear in one easy motion.

And just like that, Liara was now completely naked before her lover and he looked down at her with a loving gaze before crawling back over her and leaning down into another passionate kiss as he felt the Asari place her hands on his back and pull him down to her, allowing Liara to feel her skin against his.

She then surprised Orion by rolling them both onto the right side of the bed, so that she was now on top and this made him smile back as the Asari then mirrored his earlier action by leaving a trail of kisses down his neck and over his chest and stomach, until she reached his jeans. The blue haired Bot then helped her remove them and his boxers in quick and efficient manner, which revealed his semi aroused member to both her and the night air that earned a gentle moan from him before the Asari climbed back on top of him.

The two then kissed passionately again, while she moved a hand down to his member and began to give it long strokes which earned yet another pleasure felt moan as he quickly returned the favour, by moving his hand up to her own sex and started to gently rub it's labia and so earn yet another sweet sound of ecstasy building up within his Asari Lover. The pair continued like this on the sun lounger bed for a good long moment, slowly speeding up their masturbation of each other's sex which also quickened their breathing as they both felt their pleasure increasing.

' _Oh goddess, I don't know how much more I can hold back.'_  Liara thought as she bit her lip slightly, but she knew Orion was no farther behind as his member was now completely stiff in her hand. Orion himself could feel how close she was with his hand on her own sex which was now soaking wet.

So Liara stopped her strokes with her Autobot lover following suit, and she repositioned herself so that her sex was now directly over his erect member. They were so close, the Bot could feel the heat emanating from her. They both smiled lovingly at each other before she then gestured for him to sit up which he then did, meaning that she was now almost straddling him and she leaned in close to his ear so that he could feel her breath on his skin.

"Embrace Eternity my love.' she then whispered before lowering herself down onto his member which slipped in so easily due to how wet she was down there. This earned a moan of complete and utter pleasure from both of them as she took in the full length of his member, making her lean back and stare up into the night sky and revealing to Orion that her eyes had now turned completely black.

But it was not that which took the Bot by surprise, but instead it was the explosion of ecstasy he suddenly became overwhelmed with as he not only felt his own pleasure but Liara's too. It felt as it the pair were now one, each and every feeling the other felt was multiplied as the Asari continued to rise and fall onto her Lover's member. Their breathing now heavy and in complete sync with each other as they lost themselves in each other.

This went on for another long moment before Orion suddenly gripped his Asari lover tightly, lifting her up enough and turning them both around so she would land on her back with him on top of her once more. This made her smile back at him and tut coyly in return.

"You want your turn?"

The blue haired Bot merely replied with a nod while looking back at the Asari with a hungry stare before re-entering her moist sex with a slow thrust, earning another sweet moan from Liara as the Autobot began to build up his rhythm. She was so lost in the joyous feeling that was spreading throughout her body, which was too being multiplied by what Orion was feeling too. The Asari had not noticed the fact she had begun to claw at his back, drawing a little blood as she did. Though if Orion had noticed this, he certainly did not show it. For he too was so overwhelmed by this symbiotic relationship they had undertaken during their lovemaking, feeling everything that Liara was feeling on top of his own pleasure. That he had simply lost himself in her, in exactly the same why she had with him.

And so the pair continued with their love-making, with no care to who may have been in hearing distance of their cries of pleasure. There was certainly no consideration for poor Ravage who had moved to the other side of the Darby residence, and was trying to sleep at this moment.

 


	39. Chapter 39

The scent of sea salt was strong in the morning air as Liara and Orion lay in each other's arms on the sun lounger bed, with nothing but a light duvet to cover them which the Autobot had picked up from the supply box under the bed. And the pair just lied there watching the sky slowly brighten up as night gave way to the new day.

The Asari had never felt so blissful and content in her life as she did with her lover's arms wrapped around her, listening to his spark beat as she lay her head on his chest. She couldn't think of a better way to start the new day as she ran a finger down the Bot's stomach, feeling the toned muscles of his six-pack as she did so.

Orion too was just as content to let this moment last as he lied under Liara with his arms holding her close, for he did not want to let her go. He could feel the Asari's chest expand and deflate slightly on his own with each and every breath she took, which was now more calmer and controlled than either of theirs had been a few hours earlier. For what they had experienced together then, was beyond anything Orion had felt with any partner he had before, Nightracer included.

He sighed happily as he looked up at the vanilla sky overhead which was slowly shifting from red to blue, and this earned a smile from the Asari which he felt through the skin of his chest.

"Your awake?" he asked in a caring tone, which made Liara turn her head and rest her chin on his chest while looking back into his blue eyes.

"..As are you." she replied coyly before leaning with a kiss, her lips tasting like a heavenly fruit to the Bot as he returned the kiss.

"Morning." she then said back softly after pulling away enough to look back at the Autobot.

"Morning." he replied as they then readjusted their positions so that they were still holding each other, but now at eye level.

"Last night Liara, it was..." Orion began to say, only for the Asari to jump in as she smiled back with a slight shy-like expression.

"Orion, I know." she said back, marvelling at the wide-eye look of wonder on his face as she listened to him.

"I think only one word can describe last night." he added, earning a curious look from Liara.

"And what's that?"

"…Perfect." the blue haired Bot replied before leaning in close and kissing the Asari, who had begun to blush in return. But that did not stop her from returning the kiss in kind as she pressed her lips back into his, turning their kiss into a passionate one that continued for what felt like a lifetime between them.

If it had not been for the need to breath, the lovers might never have parted from the kiss. But they both just looked back at each another and smiled as Orion shook his head in disapproval with a sigh.

"If I could, I would curse whoever thought needing to breath was a necessity." he joked while looking back out at the blue ocean before him and Liara.

"It's not that bad really, considering we can just do it again." she replied, regaining his attention.

"That's true." the Autobot said back as the Asari leaned in again. This time touching her forehead to his own as they looked deeply into each others eyes.

' _Man, I could so easily lose myself in those deep blue eyes._ ' he thought before they both moved in for another kiss, only for their com-links to suddenly activate, pulling them both out of the moment as they sat back and tapped the devices.

"Orion and Liara here." the blue haired Bot said as his Asari lover listened.

"It's Shen, I know that I am probably interrupting you two…" the Turian replied, his voice laced with a mixture of embarrassment and guilt that was easily readable by them both, gaining an annoyed sigh from the Autobot.

"You kind of are….yes…" he said back with a reluctant tone while Liara chuckled, finding his reaction to be quite cute as she looked back at him.

"Oh…okay, well sorry….'did I already say that?'…" Shen replied.

"Yes you did, so what is going on?" the bluehaired Bot said back, his voice becoming more serious so to snap his friend out of his embarrassed state.

"Yes, right. The Commander wants us all back on the Normandy, the ship and the fleet is ready."

These words suddenly made the Autobot and the Asari look directly at each other as they lied on the lounger, a knowing expression on both their faces. For they knew that what had been a perfect evening between them was now coming to an end, so Orion reluctantly sighed as he put his finger up to his com-link.

"We….are on our way, Orion and Liara out." he said with a deflated tone, earning a nod from the Asari.

"Should I feel bad that I don't want to go back now." she said with a mirrored tone which made Orion put his arms around more, with the blue female laying her head on his should as they both looked out to the ocean.

"I know exactly what you mean Liara, because I don't want this to end either after what we shared last night." he replied before looking back at the Asari, who was now looking up at him.

"I don't want to lose you Orion, not after finding each other and experiencing what we could have together." she said back, making the Autobot squeeze her in his arms affectionately as he noticed the tinge of dread in the Asari's voice. For he knew of what she had already lost before now, with her friends during the Reaper War, then Shockblast and now her own Mother. So he just looked the Asari in the eye, never blinking once.

"And I don't want to lose you either Liara, what I want is for us to build a life together, one that is our own...and maybe down the road...a family." he replied before looking back out to sea, noticing the sky becoming more blue-like as early morning continued to pass them by.

"But we first have a duty to stop Galvatron and his Predacons, to save my parents and personally put that monster six feet under." he added as he looked back, noticing that Liara still had an unsure expression on her face. He did not know what else to say that could quell his lover's fears, but then something came to mind, something he had not had chance to really think about which had occurred only a dozen feet away from their location only a week or so earlier.

"Your not going to lose me Liara, not now or ever...but..." he started to say, noticing the Asari's face becoming curious to what he was saying, so he gave her a slight smile in return.

"Remember when you said that 'I must have a destiny?'"

"Yes, why so you ask?" Liara replied with curious tone.

"Well it said in the Covenant that I would bring about something called the 'Trinity of Primes'. Now I don't know what that is, but since everything written in the Covenant always happens, then that means I will be fine." he continued as his lover stared back with a hopeful expression.

"And I will make sure that you do too, we will be in this fight together, side by side." he added, as Liara leaned in close and smiled.

"Yes, we will." she said back before the pair then kissed again, before pulling away and looking back out at the sea as the waves gently broke against the shore in front of them.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

In the Normandy's CIC, Rodimus sat in his hover-chair and watched as the crew worked at their individual stations, using their holo-interfaces as they prepared the ship for launch. The Commander than activated his own holo-tool and synced it to the galaxy map, which changed to show a holographic version of the ship.

"So all the hull damage has been repaired?" he asked a female Turian engineer standing beside him, who nodded in return while pointing at particular points on the hologram.

"Yes, but they are more like patch-jobs considering that the Normandy would really need a few weeks in dry-dock to bring it back to pristine condition. It was really the best we could do, given the time we had. So even though the breaches have been sealed, the hull integrity is still only at seventy percent. We have increased the structural integrity field of the ship to strengthen its hull and bring it up to around eighty-five percent. We have also repaired the shield generator and weapons systems, but the stealth system needs more time than we had to repair so it has instead been completely deactivated until we have the time." she added, earning a reluctant nod from Rodimus.

"I see. What about the other main systems, how are they holding up?"

"All other systems are working from around ninety to one hundred percent, I won't lie that the Normandy has seen better days. But it can still give a good fight, since my engineering crew and I have done our best to see that it would get the chance." the Turian said back.

"Well thank you for all the hard work over the last day, it is greatly appreciated." the Autobot replied as the engineer deactivated her holo-tool.

"Your welcome Commander Rodimus, but now I have to be excused." she said back before walking to the elevator and exiting the CIC, so the Commander then tapped his com-link.

"Nightracer, have Orion and Liara arrived yet?" he then asked.

The Femme tapped her earpiece as the Commander's voice came through on her end, looking around her in the Shuttle-Bay as people walked to and from the ship via the lowered landing ramp.

"Yes sir, I see them approaching the ship now." Nightracer replied as she spotted the pair walking towards the ramp.

"Good, now what is the status of our re-supply?" Rodimus asked, making the Femme look round to see the last of the metallic crates being placed on the deck near Onyx Primal, who was watching everyone in his beast mode. The loaders gave the dragon a wide berth as they moved slowly away, earning a smile from Nightracer as she turned back round.

"They have just finished it now." she replied.

"Alright, once everyone is on board then we will get under-way. Rodimus out."

Nightracer then deactivated her com-link and turned to see Orion and Liara approach her, holding hands as they did, which made her look to the ground slightly and sigh before they stopped directly in front of her.

"You guys are late." she said with a slightly apprehensive tone, gaining unsure looks from both the Bot and Asari.

"Uh, well.." Liara began to reply before her lover stepped in.

"Yeah….a lot happened last night between us." the young Darby said as he looked back to Liara, a big smile on both his, earning a mirrored expression. This made Nightracer sigh and smile in return, unable to keep up the act any longer.

"You guys don't need to explain yourselves, it's not like the rest of us haven't noticed how close you both have become since Illium…" the Femme said back, earning an appreciative smile from the pair.

"…And I know Liara is a good fit for you." she continued, gaining a nod from the Asari.

"Thank you Nightracer, that's kind of you to say."

"Yes, thank you. Though I could have sworn that your reaction was going to be somewhat different, because of the way you were looking at us when we arrived." Orion added with a tinge of confusion in his voice, earning a chuckle from the Femme as she smiled back teasingly.

"That's because after all this time, you still fall for 'the look'. And you are so cute when you squirm, wouldn't you agree Liara?"

The Asari gave the Bot a similar smile and nodded in return.

"Yes, I would agree with that…..and I will remember the look for future reference." she said back in a similar teasing tone, which made Orion sigh in defeat.

"Ni, do you have to give Liara ideas."

"There's more where that came from." the Femme said to the Asari with an added wink, which Orion caught and smiled back at.

"I saw that, I know when your kidding Ni." he said with a not completely convinced tone, which made his Ex smile wider.

"Oh really, do you think I am kidding…" she replied before looking over to Liara, who was just watching the pair with an interested smile. So the Femme leaned over slightly to the Asari and covered her mouth from the Bot so he could not see.

"…I am really, but he will still bite and squirm…then finally fold." she then said, gaining a nod from blue female.

"I've did notice that." she said back, which made the pair laugh as Orion just dropped his head in defeat and sighed again.

"Okay you win."

"See what I mean." Nightracer said as the door behind them opened, gaining their attention as well as a sigh of relief from Orion who saw that it was Shen and Smokescreen, the latter sitting in a hover-chair like Rodimus's.

"Look who's finally up and about." the Turian said with an enthusiastic tone as the others walked over and surrounded the pair, earning a slightly embarrassed expression from the Autobot who looked up at them all.

"Not exactly the way I wanted to leave the Medical-Bay, but I guess it will have to do." he replied with a slightly disappointed tone, which made Nightracer place a hand on his shoulder in a supportive manner.

"Well, we are all just glad to see that your on the road to recovery." She added, which made the others smile back in unison. But Smokescreen merely nodded back before looking down at his stricken legs, a sad look appearing on his face.

"Thanks, but I just wish that others were as lucky as I was."

Everyone's faces sunk somewhat, as they all knew who the Autobot was on about.

"Quickstrike told me what happened to Grunt on Benning, and I do not claim to have known him well. But I remember the stories that my Father used to tell me when I was a child, of the adventures he had with you, Grunt, Rodimus and Garrus. And I do know that with how my Father described Grunt, the Krogan would not have had his death any other way." Orion then said with a knowing and supportive expression, which gained a nod from Smokescreen in return.

"Yes, Grunt always did relish a good fight and that was how he always envisioned himself going out. Wrex said the same thing, but still….I am going to miss him."

"We all will… but as long as we remember him, then he will always be with us." the blue haired Bot replied before the Autobot looked back at him with a thoughtful expression.

"You are your Father's son, and I know he would be damn proud of you Orion. I certainly am, to have had the chance to work alongside you and the next generation of Autobots." he said back as a smile graced his face, while holding out a hand to the young Darby which he then shook.

"Just do me a favour and bring your Parents back safely, okay?" Smokescreen then added, earning a nod back from Orion.

"I will, you can count on it." he said back with a determined tone to his voice, which made the chair-bound Bot smirk back.

"Very well, I look forward to seeing you guys after this is all done. Good luck."

Everyone there then shook hands with Smokescreen, before he then pressed a button on the small control panel on top of his right hand side armrest, making his chair move down the ramp and off the ship.

"Okay, then I guess it's time we got moving." Shen then said as everyone watched the injured Bot disappear down the ramp, then suddenly the inter-com activated and gained their attention.

"This is Commander Rodimus, all hands to stations and prepare for launch."

Orion and the others immediately nodded at each other before heading out of the Shuttle-Bay, but not before Nightracer used her holo-tool to close the landing ramp and seal it from the ship-s exterior, then she joined the rest.

The CIC was a buzz with activity as Rodimus moved in his hover-chair towards the Cockpit, taking note of how efficient his crew were in performing their tasks at their individual stations.

"Jetstorm report status." he said as he stopped behind the pilot, who was typing on the holo-interface in front of him.

"Sir, all decks report ready for launch. In fact, Docking Control has cleared us for departure." he said in return as Orion joined the pair, earning a nod from the Commander in acknowledgement.

"Very well, is the air-lock and outer hatches sealed."

"Yes sir, Nightracer dealt with that. Everyone who's not supposed to be on board has disembarked." the blue haired Bot replied.

"Good, then by all means Jetstorm. Take us out." Rodimus said back, earning a nod from the pilot.

"Disengaging docking clamps, clearing all moorings. Thrusters at ten percent, easing us out." he then stated as the Normandy began to reverse out from the docking ring of the Tower, turning around one hundred and eighty degrees once it was at a safe enough distance to do so.

"We are clear of the tower." Jetstorm then added, as he and his Commanders looked out of the glass canopy to see the city of New Iacon before them.

"Take us out." the Autobot Leader then said before the Normandy then flew up into the blue sky, taking less than thirty seconds to breach Earth's atmosphere and re-enter the void of space.

"Activate the space-bridge and aim it at the rendezvous coordinates." Rodimus then said.

"Aye, aye sir." the pilot replied before entering the numbers into the number pad of his holo-interface before pressing a button next to it, which was followed by the sudden appearance of a bright green vortex opening up before them.

"Space-bridge activated, taking us through." Jetstorm stated as the Normandy then entered the portal, reappearing on the other side and finding itself surrounded by the largest fleet seen outside of the Reaper War.

"Wow, I have never seen so many ships in one place." Orion said in amazement as he looked out at the many Cruisers, Destroyers and other Star-ships that filled up the void around them.

"It certainly looks like we have called in every ship we have." the pilot replied as he flew the Autobot Frigate between two of the largest vessels, but then as Rodimus was about to speak, a terminal before Jet-storm beeped.

"We are being hailed, it is Admiral Hackett on board the Apollo."

"Put him through." the Commander said back, and a second later another holo-screen appeared before the trio with the face of Caucasian man in his late fifties appearing on it. He had a well trimmed silver beard and a scar running down his right cheek, ending just above his lips.

"Commander Rodimus, glad you and the Normandy could make it." the Admiral said with a deep and commanding voice.

"There was no way the Normandy was going to miss this Admiral, what is the status of the fleet?" Rodimus replied with a smirk, earning a mirrored expression from Hackett.

"With the exception of the scattered forces left to defend our major Colonies and Home-worlds, we have pretty much every ship in the fleet with us for our assault."

The Admiral's smirk dropped a little as his face became thoughtful.

"Though I thought that we wouldn't ever need to show such a force of strength again….not since the Reaper War." he added, earning a nod from the Commander.

"I know what you mean, but we cannot let the Predacons continue with their campaign against us."

"Agreed. And considering their entire fleet is orbiting Virmire, we might never have a better chance to put and end to them. Though before you arrived, I sent a shuttle into the system for a quick in and out re-con. And it seems that the Nemesis has landed on the planet, taking up a very well defended position at the foot of a mountain." the Hackett said, earning a wide-eyed look from both Rodimus and Orion. With the latter turning to his Mentor and friend.

"Looks like Galvatron has found what he was looking for."

"Right, so we should get moving….now." the Commander replied.

"Yes I agree, so I already have a basic outline of the attack plan…." the Admiral began to say before Rodimus stepped in.

"I will go over the details of the attack with you now…" he said in return, before turning to Orion.

"Time for you and your team to suit up." the Commander added, gaining a nod from the young Darby.

"Yes sir." he replied before tapping his com-link.

"Liara, Quickstrike, Shen, Nightracer. Head down to the Armoury and suit up, I will meet you there."

The XO then looked back at Rodimus, Admiral Hackett and Jetstorm as he readied himself to leave.

"We will begin as soon as you are ready, good luck Orion." the Commander then said, earning a nod from the young Darby.

"Good luck to us all." he replied, gaining mirrored reactions from the trio before leaving the cockpit, heading for the elevator at the back of the CIC.

"He certainly has the look of Jackson Prime." Hackett observed as he watched the Spectre walk off, while both Rodimus and Jetstorm turned back to him.

"He is his Father's son, and this attack plan was mostly his own idea." the Autobot replied, earning a nod from the Admiral.

"I see, well if he is anything like our Prime, then we will be in good hands."

"Of course Admiral, it is an ambitious undertaking. But it can succeed." the Elite Spectre said back as he sat in his hover-chair.

"Very well, then what do you want us to do?" Hackett replied, earning a slight smile from Rodimus who then activated his holo-tool, as he prepared to brief the Admiral.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Back at Virmire, Ser-Ket was still restrained on the berth in Shockwave's Lab. The Femme was deep in thought as she went over what the Decepticon Scientist had shown her, with the images continually flashing in her mind.

' _I still can not believe that I was that Decepticon, it has to be a lie._ ' the Predacon thought as she looked down at her body, shaking her head in reluctance.

' _But there is no denying the sense of familiarity I can feel with these images…these memories, that scares me more than anything._ '

This form of thinking made Ser-Ket feel a cold dread pass through her spark, since it had been hard enough for her to believe that she had any kind of real connection to her Predacon brethren. But now with this bombshell dropped into her lap by Shockwave, someone she had believed to be long dead because of what the historical records had claimed. This had left the Femme feeling utterly confused and unsure of what her role was or where she supposedly fitted in this world and that did really frighten her.

But just as her mind had become engulfed in the rising tide of memories that were supposedly of her and the thoughts that followed, threatening to drown Ser-Ket in her own despair and anguish. There was one light that could keep her afloat and reinforce her focus and that was Quickstrike, the Autobot who she had come to love with the entirety of her being. One that she was willing to sacrifice herself for in order to save him, despite what that fate meant for her in return.

' _Quickstrike, I know your out there and looking for me._ ' she thought as she remembered the blonde Bot' smile and eyes, which warmed her spark and calmed her down. But it was then that another thought came to mind, something which Shockwave had told her prior to the bombshell he then dropped into her lap.

' _Shockwave said that my CNA was spliced not with a Predacon as he believed, but of one of their rivals. What if this is the reason for my detached feelings concerning my Predacon brethren, something that was brought out by Shockblast when he reawakened me._ ' Ser-Ket thought as she then remembered the dreams she had of the battles and black Dragon, the one that she felt no fear or animosity towards.

' _Could those dreams have been remnants of the person I was spliced with?_ '

But before the Femme dwell on this thought any more l, the door to the Lab opened and Shockwave walked in. His face was entirely expressionless as he headed over to his restrained acquaintance.

"It has been decided." he said in a cold tone, which earned a concerned look from the Predacon in return.

"What has...?" she replied as her eyes remained focused on the Decepticon, who came to a stop right next to her and began looking over the instruments that lay on the small table beside her berth.

"I have spoken to Lord Galvatron and gained my Liege's permission to wipe your mind clean of Ser-Ket, leaving you free to return as Strika." he said back, earning a horrified expression from the Femme. Her thoughts overcome by the repurcusions of such an action.

' _If he does this, I will lose Quickstrike forever_!'

The Predacon started to fight against her restraints, gaining Shockwave's attention as he looked down at Ser-Ket with a confused expression.

"Do not fight it, soon you will be free of these conflicted memories and emotions, ones that were never really yours." he replied while picking up the Cortical Psychic Patch once again, and fitted one end onto the Femme's head despite her struggles.

"You will will instead be free of such confusion and illogical thinking, instead returning to efficient and ruthless comrade that we Predacons need." the Scientist added as he placed the other device back on top of his head, before activating them with his holo-tool which made both units hum in response.

"No, No, I do not want to lose my memories. I need them!" Ser-Ket spat back, only for the Decepticon to ignore her and continue.

"All that is required of myself is to access your memory-core and wipe the majority of it clean, before then re-uploading your back up of your original memory via your secondary buffer. It is logical after all, to keep all options available."

' _No, I cannot lose what makes me who I am. I will not become that Decepticon, the one who is ruthless and without even an iota of mercy...she who is a real monster._ ' Ser-Ket thought as she gritted her teeth and put everything she had into breaking her restraints, but found that they would not budge.

"Your struggling is illogical, I am giving you a gift. A chance to be yourself again, and lead a life without the conflicting and destructive emotions that control the rest of our species." Shockwave stated while watching the Femme continue to fight against her locked arms and legs, with a look of pure confusion plastered over his face. But as the Patch continued to hum louder as it came ever closer to full power, the Predacon came to one inescapable conclusion in her mind.

' _I cannot break these restraints, not with the strength I have at this moment._ ' she thought as she stopped struggling and looked down at herself with an expression of acceptance, one that Shockwave noticed and nodded at in return.

"Good, you're struggling was futile and only delayed the inevitable for a moment or two more." he replied as Ser-Ket closed her eyes, looking like she was giving up.

' _...I have to use the side of me I_ _despise_ _, my beast mode!_ ' she thought before focusing on her anger and rage, letting it build inside of herself, before her eyes opened wide and startled the Decepticon Scientist. For what he saw were not the eyes of a Cybertronian, but instead were those of a Beast.

"No, you will fail. Even your increased strength can not overcome your enhanced restraints." he said back with an increasing tinge of worry in his voice, as he activated his holo-tool's electric-shock function and grabbed the Femme's arm, delivering a powerful shock of electricity through her. This made the Predacon scream in pain, but it was a scream that slowly morphed into a roar as Ser-Ket continued to change before the Scientist's remaining eye, for he could not believe what he was witnessing.

"Impossible!" he spat in complete disbelief as the Femme broke out of her restraints and grabbed his arm off of her, staring into his eye for a moment before throwing him to the ground several feet away.

Shockwave quickly got to his feet while the Predacon easily freed the rest of her body from the berth's restraints and got off it, revealing the finished transformation into her Beastial form.

"You have to be neutralised!" he added before pulling out his pistol with one hand, while raising his other to his com-link in an effort to alert the rest of the crew. But before he could, Ser-Ket pounced and grabbed both arms while pinning the Decepticon against the wall. She growled deeply while gritting her teeth at the one eyed man. The Femme's thoughts were all over the place as a veil of rage blanketed everything in front of her.

"I swear by the Allspark, you will never hurt another person ever again." she spat before ripping off his arms, spraying blood out in both directions as she then dropped the limbs and grabbed his head in both hands.

"You are Strika, a Decepticon General. That is what you are and were always meant to be!" Shockwave managed to say through the Predacon's hands, but this made the Femme narrow her eyes at him in return while increasing the pressure around his head.

"My name...is Ser-Ket, and it is time for you to die!" she spat before crushing his head into mulch with her bare hands, killing the Decepticon instantly as his headless body slumped to floor and twitched for a moment. The Predacon just stood there and breathed heavily, staring down at both it and her blood covered hands.

' _I...have to get out of here!_ ' she thought before rushing out of the Lab, leaving Shockwave's body there to continue twitching in a pool of blood in the now empty room.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile Galvatron stood on the bridge with Lazerback too his right, while standing behind him was Jackson Prime and Arcee who were both in restraints and surrounded by Terracons. The Predacon Lord had a confident smile on his face as he watched the holo-screen in front of the group, which showed the particle beam cannon firing into the mountainside and crafting a tunnel through the giant rock formation.

"We are now only fifty metres from the object…." the Terracon manning the weapon's station stated as he kept his focus between working the beam and watching it's power levels.

"…..but the power is on the verge of overloading, having already passed one hundred percent."

This made Lazerback look over to his leader with a concerned expression, as the weapon's station began to sound an alarm.

"My Lord, we should deactivate the particle beam and allow it to cool down, or we risk burning out the cannon."

"Noted, now maintain fire on that spot and up its power levels again." Galvatron replied with a growing anger in his voice, never taking his eyes off the screen whilst doing so. This made his lieutenants look at each other in equally perplexed expressions before nodding back in return.

"You heard Lord Galvatron." Lazerback said while looking down at the weapon's operator.

"Yes sir." the drone replied before typing onto his holo-interface, making the power readouts rise up into the red. This instantly made the beam glow even brighter and cut through the rock faster, earning a grin from the Predacon Leader as he continued to watch. Another minute or so passed as the weapon's alarms continued to blare out of the CIC's speakers until the Terracon suddenly deactivated the cannon, he then turned around and looked up at his Commander.

"My Lord, the beam has crafted a tunnel through the mountain and hit something inside, something our sensors cannot identify."

Galvatron smiled back and nodded in return.

"Very good, and what is the condition of the particle beam cannon?"

"It was a good timing that the tunnel was created when it was, because if it had been used a moment longer then it would have overloaded. I am afraid that it cannot be used again." the Terracon replied, earning a knowing nod from Lazerback that did not go unnoticed by his Lord.

"Do you have something you wish to say Lazerback?" he asked with narrowed red eyes, which made the lieutenant suddenly stiffen up and shake his head in response.

"No…m..my Lord." he stuttered back.

"Good, because you do remember what happens to those who question me…don't you." the Predacon Leader replied, earning a nod from Lazerback who said nothing else.

"Now then, take our 'guests down to the ventral hanger. I have ordered three Terracon squads to meet you there, and wait for my arrival."

"I see my Lord, and once you join us?" the lieutenant asked with a slightly nervous tone.

"Then we will go to that mountain and see what we have uncovered, any more questions?" Galvatron said back, trying to hide his growing annoyance with his minion.

"Just one more, if you will indulge me my Lord." he replied before gulping hard while the Predacon Lord stared back, but said nothing in return.

"…Why are we taking the Prime and his Femme with us, surely they would be better secured in the Brig?"

Galvatron gave his lieutenant a knowing smile, both Jack and Arcee did not even flinch at the sound of them being talked about as their thoughts more focused on everything that had happened to them recently… and what they had lost personally.

"Because the Prime carries something we will need for what is in that Rock, and his Femme will guarantee that he uses it."

This suddenly caught Jack's attention, as he looked over to the Predacon Leader with wide, curious eyes. Which made Galvatron smile back at him.

"Now do as I command." he said to Lazerback, who turned and faced the Terracons guarding their prisoners.

"Let's go." he said, earning salutes from the drones who responded by grabbing both Prime and Femme and turning them around to face the exit. Arcee then caught her Spark-mate's confused expression, mirroring the look with her own.

"Jack, what is it?" she asked, but all the older Darby did was look back at Galvatron who continued to smile back at him confidently, while they were escorted off the CIC.

Once the Autobots were gone, the Predacon Lord turned his attention back to the Terracons working below his station, who all felt his gaze as they continued with their individual tasks. This made him smirk as he tapped his com-link.

"Rip-Claw, do you read me?"

"Yes Lord Galvatron, how may I serve you?" she replied with an eager tone.

"I want you and Vertabreak to lead our ground-forces outside, just in case the enemy find us. If that happens, you are to make sure that no Autobot reaches the mountain, is that clear?" Galvatron asked.

"Yes my Lord, but what about their air support, there is no cover out there on that terrain?" Rip-Claw replied back with a concerned tone.

"You will have Predaking, Grimwing and Skystalker out there with you, and also the Nemesis will also be laying down covering fire for you and the Terracons. Now execute my orders."

"By your command Lord Galvatron." the Femme said back before deactivating the com-link, which then made the Predacon Leader look down at the Terracon manning the Communications terminal.

"Get me Blight on the Achilles." he said in a commanding tone, one that made the soldier in question almost snap to attention as he began typing on the holo-interface before him.

"Of course my Lord, I have him now." he replied before a holo-screen appeared in front of the Predacon Leader, and Blight appeared on it.

"Lord Galvatron, I have positioned the fleet around the planet in a defensive pattern as per your earlier instructions." he stated in a professional tone, which impressed Galvatron as he listened.

"Very good Blight. Tell me, has your sensors picked up anything outside of the system?"

"There have been no sign of any ships on the long range sensors my Lord, but we are picking up a plasma storm which appears to be heading for the system." the lieutenant replied, earning a curious expression from Galvatron in return.

"Plasma storm, does it pose any threat to us?"

"We have calculated its probable trajectory and we believe that it will pass through this system, but no where near Virmire."

"Alright, then I will not keep you from your duties Blight. Keep me apprised…" the Predacon Leader started to say, before suddenly alarms began blaring around the Lieutenant, making him look over to his Terracons around him.

"What is it?" he said to those off screen, leaving Galvatron as nothing but an observer for a moment with a confused expression growing on his face.

"Blight, what is it?" he asked, earning a surprised and concerned look from his minion.

"We are detecting a large fleet of ships heading directly for us." he said back, making the Predacon Leader's red eyes narrow as he gritted his teeth.

"The Autobots have found us, patch me to every Predacon in our fleet." he then spat at the Communications Terracon, who nodded and worked his station.

"You are on my Lord." he replied, as his lieutenants, Terracons and Mercs alike all listened for their leader to speak.

"My Predacons, today we stand at the very beginnings of a new Golden age for us all. One that will see the end of the Autobots, the only ones left to oppose us. They have arrived to try and stop us from achieving our ultimate victory, so I say let them make their final stand. We will crush them all and take this galaxy for our own, once and for all. So my Predacons….attack and TERROISE!" he commanded in tyrannical glee, earning cheers from everyone in his fleet, just as the Autobot ships entered the system.

 


	40. Chapter 40

The CIC of the Achilles was rocked by several direct hits to the ship as Blight look around him at as two stations exploded, sending the Terracons near them to the floor hard.

"Shields down to eighty five percent." the soldier to his right shouted over the sounds the red alert blaring from the room's speakers, which made the Lieutenant look over to his helmsman in front of him.

"Evasive manoeuvres, get us out of the line of fire and cover our ventral side." he spat, gaining a nod from the Terracon before he then turned his attention to another on his right.

"Fire our torpedoes on that Autobot dreadnought the moment you have a clear shot, understood?" he said in a commanding tone, gaining a nod from the Terracon before he looked back to the helmsman who had started his manoeuvres.

So as the battle continued to play out around the Achilles which was still taking fire from the enemy in front of it, suddenly turned starboard, looking as if it was attempting to pull away. So the dreadnought maintained its fire on the Predacon ship, hitting its shields with numerous cannon blasts that made the Achilles shake with each and every hit. But the weapons Terracon maintained his cool and stared at the holo-screen of his terminal as the enemy ship entered the center of his targeting HUD and turned green, which made the Con press the firing button in return.

This made the torpedo launchers on that side of the ship activate and fire a spread of glowing projectiles back at their enemy, who spotted this move... though a little late and attempted to evade it by turning away. But the torpedoes hit their mark, shattering the shields of the Dreadnought in that section. The Achilles then launched another spread of torpedoes, these ones passed through unchallenged and impacted on the front of the Autobot ship, causing heavy damage as the Predacon ship moved away.

"Sir, the dreadnought has suffered substantial damage." the Terracon manning the sensors then said, earning Blight's attention.

"Very good." he replied before looking at the Communications operator.

"Send an alert to any Predacon ship in range of that dreadnought, and tell them to destroy it." he said, gaining a nod from the minion in return.

"Take us to the other side of Virmire, our lines are weakening a little over there." the Lieutenant then said while looking at the holo-image of the battle on his interface, which made the pilot nod back.

"Yes sir." he replied before the Achilles turned away from the damaged Dreadnought which had come under fire from nearby Predacon cruisers.

Meanwhile on the other side of the planet, more Autobot dreadnoughts hit the enemy lines there hard, with several cruisers fell before them.

Admiral Hackett stood on the bridge of the Apollo and watched the battle unfold, using multiple holo-screens around his personal station.

"Dreadnought and Cruiser wings seventeen and twelve have managed to punch a hole in the Predacons defensive line, I want Kalros Carrier group to begin landings now with cruiser wing thirteen and their fighter squadrons to cover them." he said into his com-link.

"Roger that Admiral, we are making our run now." a voice spoke back over the com.

With that the carrier group which was made up of the Krogan designed Kalros troop carriers, heavily armoured cruisers that were somewhat larger than other ships of the same class began descending towards the planet's surface, firing their flak cannons and creating a buffer zone between themselves and the Predacon fighters that were trying to stop them.

Several enemy cruisers also attempted to block their path, only to come under attack from the ISF cruisers Undaunted, Farragut on the carrier group's starboard side while the Furies, Selani and Nefrane fired from the port side, their combined torpedo and cannon fire destroying the incoming cruisers and further clearing the way as the Kalros ships entered the planet's atmosphere.

After several seconds of atmospheric entry, the carriers broke through the cloud cover to see the dark blue ocean of Virmire beneath them while the fighter squadron flew in formation alongside them.

"This is Lead carrier Urdnot, we are approaching the landmass where our target is situated. Carriers Zeus and Verallas will land either side of us, while the Hyperion and the Bulkhead will offload their troops a quarter mile away." the Urdnot's Krogan Commander said over the com-link, while the large vessels flew toward the mainland.

"Aye, Aye Urdnot, we will stay in formation with you and stop any enemy fighters from harassing you, Zeta squadron out." one of the fighter pilots replied.

Back at the mountain, Galvatron and his party had entered the tunnel and were making their way into the darkness it held, with nothing but torches to light the path ahead.

"Lord Galvatron, this is Rip-Claw. Come in please." the femme spoke over the Com-link, gaining her Leader's attention as stopped and gestured to the others to do the same, before tapping his earpiece.

"Rip-Claw report."

"The Autobots have broken through our defensive lines and are now landing ground-forces less than a click away from the Nemesis's position." she said back with a concerned tone, which made the Predacon Lord grit his teeth in return.

"Then I hope you are adequately prepared for the ground battle, because if any Autobots make it to our position, I will be sure to take it out of yours and Blight's hides. Do you understand me?" he spat, earning a gasp from the Femme who sounded a little rattled by his outburst.

"Understood Lord Galvatron, no one will make it to you. I will see to it." she said back, though the Predacon Leader merely scowled at her reply.

"Just get on with it, Galvatron out." he said before deactivating his com-link, earning a worried look from Lazerback.

"My Lord, should I send some of our Terracons back to help?" he asked, gaining his Master's attention.

"No, we carry on."

The Lieutenant nodded back, then looked over to the score of Terracons who stood behind them.

"You heard Lord Galvatron, lets move out." he ordered as the whole group continued into the tunnel, with the Predacon Lord leading the way. As they did so, Jack and Arcee were being escorted too with a Terracon at either side of them.

"Sounds to me like our friends are giving them a hard time Jack." the blue haired Femme whispered back in a hopeful tone as she looked back to him, but her face fell a little as she noticed the worried expression of her spark-mate.

"I don't think it will matter if the Autobots get here or not Arcee." he said back.

"What do you mean?" she asked in return, gaining his attention.

"Because the more we move into this mountain, the more I feel that whatever is at it's heart will spell doom for all of us." he replied, fear underlining his words as they carried on walking.

The battle in orbit was still very intense, with ships on both sides falling one after another but with no clear advantage given to either side. But that was nothing compared to what was now happening on the ground as the Autobot carriers deployed their MAKOs and troops, who began advancing on the Predacon defences. Thousands of soldiers from all over the Federation, ranging from Human and Turian to Asari and Cybertronian were again fighting side by side under the Autobot banner.

The vehicles fired their cannons into the enemy fortifications, killing numerous Terracons. But they fired back with their own, returning the favour and ending the lives of Federation soldiers with each and every blast. The Turian snipers looked through the scopes of their rifles, taking down any of the Cannon controllers who were unlucky enough to find themselves caught in their crosshairs while Asari brought up biotic barriers to defend their comrades from any further incoming fire.

"Lets take them!" a Krogan Commander shouted before he then lead Autobot Commandos in a charge toward the Predacon line, to which the Terracons followed suit while others let their beast modes take over and charged at their attackers, as the already unhinged Stalkers were let loose. Both sides clashed in the center of the field in violent fashion, Beastial Cons and Stalkers ripping into their adversaries with primal rage. But the Autobots fought back with just as much determination and courage, refusing to buckle under the savagery of the Predacons. Watching from the Autobot front lines, a grey and red armoured Japanese Man looked out at the battle with a pair of binoculars before activating his com-link.

"This is General Obsidian, we have engaged the Predacon forces. I repeat we have engaged the Predacons on the ground."

"Roger that Obsidian, we also have their fleet focused on us in orbit…." Hackett began to reply.

"…Normandy, it's now or never." he then added while the General listened and looked up at the sky.

"Normandy here, we read you loud and clear." Rodimus replied as he sat in his hover-chair inside the cockpit, just behind the pilot's seat. Then the Commander tapped his earpiece again as he turned his attention to Jetstorm, who was looking back over his shoulder.

"Alpha squad and Onyx Primal, you have a go. Jetstorm, execute attack pattern 'Hotrod Zero One."

"Aye, Aye..." the pilot started to reply as he began typed away at the terminals of his holo-interface, opening a space bridge portal directly ahead of the shi

"...Prepare for atmospheric entry, I am taking us in." he added as the Normandy flew into the vortex, which closed up behind it.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile down on the ground, Rip-Claw was in the middle of the escalating battle, revelling in savagery of her Terracon brothers as they slaughtered all the Autobots they could get their hands on. She looked down at the dying Turian that she was currently holding by his neck and snapped his neck, throwing his body away like a rag doll.

"Anterus!" a Krogan shouted, earning the Femme's attention as she looked back with evil smirk.

"Arrragggh!" the soldier then spat as he charged at her with his holo-blades, but the beastial Predacon simply grabbed both his arms and stopped the attack instantly.

"I always heard Krogan were the strongest in the Federation physically…" she said back, earning a grunt from the Krogan as he gritted his teeth and tried to fight back against her strength which was like trying to push down a reinforced concrete wall. But Rip-Claw just smiled back and held him there without much effort.

"..But I guess whoever told me that was just exaggerating, weren't they." she added before snapping both his arms, earning a painful yelp from the Krogan as she then picked him up and threw him into the middle of a pack of bloody Stalkers, who then hungrily ripped him apart in front of the Femme.

"Vertabreak, how are you faring?" she then said, having spotted the yellow armoured Con fighting with his twin holo-axes. Slicing off the head from one Asari, while impeding his other in the chest of a Geth and spilling it's liquids on to the already blood soaked ground.

"This is gloriously easy, its more like sport." he said back in a gleeful tone before spotting another few Autobots ahead and charging over at them, leaving Rip-Claw to look around for her next kill though she did have a lot of options. But just as she saw a group of Geth and Quarian soldiers nearing her position, she suddenly found herself looking up into the sky as a space-bridge vortex opened up above them.

"What the…..Skystalker, Grimwing investigate." she shouted into her com-link while turning to face the two Predacon dragons, who were had been preoccupied by a group of MAKOs that they were destroying.

Then suddenly the Normandy flew out of the vortex like a bullet out a gun, as it descended towards the ground at full speed. In the Cockpit, Jetstorm kept his complete and undivided attention on his flying as the ground was rushing towards him through the glass canopy before him.

"We're less than twenty seconds from the deck, opening the shuttle-bay now." he said, gaining a nod from Rodimus who was sitting behind him and clutching onto his armrests as the rest of the ship shook around them, then suddenly a shuttle and jet black dragon shot out of the ship towards the ground, with the Beast's wings folded in so it would gain speed.

Onboard the shuttle, Orion was in the pilot's seat with Quickstrike in the passenger seat, while Liara, Nightracer and Shen sat behind them.

"You guys are clear, we are heading back to the fleet, good luck." Rodimus added as the Normandy pulled up and ascended back into high orbit, while the shuttle and Onyx continued down.

"You too." the blue haired Bot replied as the interior of the vessel shook as the G-force began to overrule the inertial dampeners, pulling everyone back.

"This…is….fun." Quickstrike managed to say while Shen didn't look happy.

"No….it….isn't." he replied as the team Leader then reactivated the shuttle's engines and levelled it back out before turning it so that the Nemesis was now directly ahead, the Maximal following suit as it spread out its wings and allowed it to glide alongside. Everyone onboard breathed a sigh of relief as they started to feel better, with Liara placing a hand on her lover's shoulder in support.

"Nice flying." she said with an affectionate tone.

"Thanks Liara." he replied while keeping his attention on what he was doing.

"So you think that drop might have kept us off the Predacons sensors?" Nightracer asked, earning a nod from the blonde Bot as he looked back at her.

"We only used a quick burst of our engines so we could get out of the Normandy's shuttle-bay and give us a boost of speed, then let gravity pull us most of the way down before turning them back on. So the enemy sensors should not be able to pick us up before we reach our landing coordinates."

Shen though placed his hand on his forehead and sighed.

"Well….FYI, I nearly through up back here. I hope we don't have any more major manoeuvres before we land."

Suddenly an alarm began to beep loudly and flash on the holo-interface Orion was using, making him shake his head in return.

"You shouldn't have said that Shen." he replied with a concerned tone, earning everyone's attention.

"Why, what is it?" Nightracer asked, while the Turian simply shrug his shoulders in reply.

"because we have incoming." the Spectre added as he gestured in front of them, seeing both Skystalker and Grimwing approaching.

"I really shouldn't have had that big breakfast this morning." Shen said with a sigh, while Orion nodded over to Quickstrike who tapped his com-link.

"Onyx, we have two of your old friends heading this way. Think you could distract them for us?"

The Maximal dragon roared in return before flapping its wings and flying a head of the shuttle, trying to intercept the two Predacons. Meanwhile the shuttle descended closer to the ground, so it could use a gorge located there as cover.

"Onyx should keep that pair busy long enough for us to sneak past the Nemesis and land nearer that mountain." Quickstrike said as he looked up at the sky to see the Maximal engaging the Predacon pair, but Orion merely nodded in return as he began weaving the shuttle through broken ground, much to the dismay of Shen who sat in his seat and clung onto his armrests. Liara noticed this and turned her attention to her blue haired lover.

"Orion are we…" she began to ask, when suddenly the shuttle was hit from below and sent spinning into the air,

"What the!" Quickstrike shouted as he and the others all grabbed onto their armrest and held on for dear life while the lead Spectre fought to regain control of the vessel. It spun for several seconds before Orion brought it back under his control and steadied it, earning sighs of relief from them all.

"Something hit us from behind." he then said before everything around them darkened, like heavy cloud had just blotted out the sun. This made his cousin look up through the glass canopy above them and gulp at what he could see, gaining worried expressions from everyone around him.

"What is it?" Nightracer asked in return, but the blonde Bot ignored her and looked back at Orion.

"Get us out of here Cuz, because we have Predaking directly above us." he stated, but the blue haired Bot shook his head in return.

"That hit has damaged the engines and made helm control sluggish…" he started to say before a targeting alarm blared out through the shuttle's speakers, stopping the Bot short as he looked at the sensor screen and then back out of the canopy.

"Oh scrap."

"What now?" Shen asked with a worrying tone to his voice, like he could guess what was about to happen.

"We are being targeted by the Nemesis, Predaking knocked us back into range of its sensors." Orion replied as Quickstrike looked out to see the black battleship ahead, with three flashes from the top of it's hull.

"We have incoming!" the pilot added before pulling the shuttle into a sharp ascent, as the three missiles locked in on them, with the first exploding just metres under them.

"They are flak missiles, two left." the blonde Bot said as he kept his attention on his holo-interface while Orion then made the vessel dive, just as the second missile exploded above them.

"One left." he said in return before the final one suddenly exploded near them, damaging the shuttle and causing it to fall out of the sky.

"Attempting crash landing, everyone hold on!" he said as he attempted to level out the damaged ship as smoke bellowed out of its rear as it continued its fast and erratic descent towards the ground, which at this time was closer to the Nemesis and the battle than it was to the mountain.

Everyone was thrown from their seats as the shuttle hit the ground hard and ploughed through the field, digging up earth and grass, throwing it up into the air as it slid along before finally slowing to a stop.

Orion opened his eyes to see that his torso and head and were sprawled over the now defunct pilot terminal, with it's holo-interface shut down. So he got to his feet, his body ached from the close encounter with the terminal's hard surface.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked while turning around to find the others slowly getting to their feet, Quickstrike found himself lying on the floor between the aft passenger seats and got up with a helping hand from Shen who was sitting over him.

"Yeah, don't know how I got flung back here. But I am thankful you didn't feel the need to vomit Shen." the blonde Bot replied as he stood up beside the Turian.

"Well, I guess the thought that we might not survive this crash actually hindered my usual motion sickness."

"I'm fine Orion, thanks." Liara said as the Blue haired Bot helped the Asari to her feet, before she looked over at Nightracer who was standing beside the escape hatch and attempting to open it.

"A little help here please?" the Femme said, gaining Orion's attention as he went to her side..

"The mechanism for this hatch is damaged, we have to open this manually," she added, earning a knowing look from Shen.

"That was probably from the crash landing." he said back as both Bot and Femme stopped mid action to look back at him.

"We are all still here, so as the saying goes 'any landing you can walk away from is a good one'." Nightracer replied, gaining mirrored expressions of gratitude from both Orion and Liara.

"Well, we will have to get to the mountain by foot now. And that means crossing over the ground-battle near the Nemesis." Quickstrike said as he looked out of the dirt smudged canopy, earning a nod from his Cousin as he and the Femme pushed open the hatch.

"Your right, so let's get out and….." he started to say when suddenly Predaking landed right before them, spreading it's wings out and roaring to the heavens before looking down at them.

"Take cover!" the Nightracer shouted as they all moved away from the open hatch, remaining inside the damaged shuttle.

"Where's Onyx when you need him?" Shen said as they felt the heavy footfalls of the orange and black Predacon as it moved closer to them before another small earthquake suddenly happened, gaining their attention as they saw that the blue and white Skystalker had just landed on the other side of the shuttle.

"Alright, I guess that's it then." the Turian added, which earned sombre looks from everyone else.

"There is no way this shuttle will protect us from two of those Predacons out there." Quickstrike then said, gaining a nod from Orion who looked over to Liara and placed his arm around her as they all waited for the inevitable. Which looked to be happening in any moment as they could see Skystalker looking in on them through the glass canopy, opening it's mouth and charged it's ice breath as it did so.

"I'm sorry." Orion said to the Asari and his friends in an apologetic tone before looking back into her eyes, as if making it the final image he could see before the end as she took his hand in her own.

But before the blue and white Predacon and his larger friend could deliver the killing blow, they were suddenly interrupted by Grimwing being slammed into Skystalker, making him yelp as Predaking looked up to see what had caused it. Alpha team did the same as they all looked up through the glass canopy to see Onyx Prime swoop down into the area and smash into both Predacons before they had a chance to recover. Predaking then roared and tried to rush the Maximal, but simply spun around and it the orange and black dragon directly in the face with his tail, knocking him over.

"Yeah, kick their asses!" Quickstrike cheered as he and the others watched Onyx keep Skystalker pinned under his claws, while both Grimwing and Predaking recovered and began to circle the Maximal, their optics narrowing as they then opened their mouths and let loose with their fire-breath. But before the onslaught of white hot plasma fire could reach the jet black dragon, he suddenly launched himself back into the air, leaving the blue and white Predacon to get incinerated as the fire enveloped him.

Both dragons suddenly stopped when they saw what they were doing, leaving the ground around Skystalker scorched with burns as was his body and armour, earning agonising screeches from him. But before Predaking or his green friend could do anything, the sound of transforming caught their attention and looked up to see Onyx shift into robot mode as he fell gracefully back to the ground, landing directly on Skystalker's head, which was crushed instantly under his right foot.

Both Predacons could only watch as their blue and white comrade died, with only his body and wings flinching for a moment before going limp.

"Good work Onyx!" Quickstrike shouted back to his ancient friend, before looking back at his Cousin and the others.

"Now's our chance, we should make our move and head for the mountain." he said eagerly as he tried to climb out, but Orion placed his hand on the blonde Bot's shoulder and stopped him.

"Wait, we can't go yet." he said before looking back at what was transpiring before them.

"Orion is right Quickstrike, I have to level out the battlefield first." Onyx said back as he then reached over his shoulders with both hands and pulled out two swords that had been holstered on his back, between his folded up wings, never taking his optics off of Predaking or forgetting that Grimwing was still behind him.

"Wait for my signal." he said before both Predacons charged at him, so he charged directly at the orange and black dragon while shouting out a battle-cry. But a split second before he and his enemy clashed, Onyx then dodged him and the other Dragon as he spun around with his blades outstretched. Both blades sliced through the wings of both Predacons, earning grimaces of pain from them as their wings fell to the ground. Predaking and Grimwing had now switched sides as the Maximal Leader was once again between them, so they turned back round and pounced at the Bot once more as he swung both blades at them.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile the battle in orbit was continuing at a frantic pace as the Apollo came under fire from the Achilles, its main cannons ripping through the Autobot Cruiser's defences with ease. In the CIC, Admiral Hackett watched as his crew continued to focus on their duties as fires broke out across the room, while the ship shook around them with every hit it took.

"Sir, we have lost shields on our port-side…" one crewman shouted over the sounds of explosions that were rattling the ship while numerous terminals exploded around the CIC, sending their operators flying onto the floor,

"…we are sustaining considerable damage to the hull." he added, which made the Admiral look back to his helmsman,

"Evasive manoeuvres, and keep our starboard side to the Achilles." he said, earning a nod from the officer as he looked over to the weapons station.

"Keep our weapons locked in on that ship, it's the lead vessel of the Predacon fleet. If we can take it out, that should destabilise the rest of the enemies and give us that extra advantage."

"Aye sir." the officer replied as the Apollo began to spin while the Predacon cruiser continued its barrage, with its weapon fire lighting up the shields of the Autobot ship as it manoeuvred itself so that its other side was now facing it's enemy, while whichever weapons turrets were now facing it continued to fire back.

"Admiral, we are weakening the shield grid around it's engines. If we can punch through it with say….a spread of torpedoes, then we could set of a chain reaction…." the crewmen manning the sensors terminal then began to say, earning a nod from Hackett who cut him off.

"…which would destroy that ship, good idea."

He then looked between the Helmsman and his weapons operator.

"Move us around to give us a clear target, and prepare to fire on my mark." he said in a commanding tone, gaining nods of agreement from the officers.

"Yes sir." they said in unison as the cruiser attempted to move around it's Predacon equal, while the battle raged on around them. But no matter what manoeuvre the Apollo tried to use against the Achilles, it would just outmaneuver them. Both ships continued this for a while longer as they fired everything they had at each other, until two torpedoes fired from the Predacon cruiser hit part of the Apollo's engines, which slowed the ship to almost a crawl.

On board the Achilles, Blight smiled as he looked out at the crippled Autobot cruiser through the CIC's main glass canopy.

"We have them now, target all cannons and launchers at their weakened side." he said as the Predacon ship's weapons moved into position, taking what looked like a final aim at the Apollo.

"Once this ship is down, the rest of their fleet will panic and divide." the Lieutenant added, while the Terracon manning the weapons terminal looked over to him.

"All weapons locked on target."

"Fire!" Blight replied as a smirk grew on his face, keeping his attention firmly on what was sure to be the turning point of this battle. But just as the cannons barrel's lit up inside as they prepared to fire, suddenly a spread of torpedoes came out of nowhere and hit the top of the Achilles, exploding against it's hull and causing the ship to shake around the Predacon and his crew as they looked around with shocked expressions.

"What in the scrap was that?" he spat as the Terracon manning the sensor array station looked at his holo-interface.

"We have another ship inbound, it's the Normandy!" he said back, which made Blight stare out of the ship with an angry look as he narrowed his eyes.

The Autobot frigate fired another spread of torpedoes, which damaged the area of the Achilles they hit as it flew between them and the Apollo.

"Hackett, Its Rodimus. Looks like you could use a hand." the Elite Spectre said into his com-link as he sat behind Jetstorm, who kept his attention on evading the weapons fire coming from the Achilles.

"Yes, thanks for the save. Now between our two ships, we can probably take this Predacon cruiser out." the Admiral replied, earning a nod from the Commander.

"Way ahead of you, get yourselves ready while we keep them busy." he said back before turning his attention to his pilot.

"Get us as close as you can to the Achilles and fire at any and all targets you have a clear shot at."

"Yes sir." Jetstorm replied as he veered the Normandy to the right sharply, just in time to miss some more weapons fire before turning the ship around and flying directly at the Predacon cruiser.

"Take this." he then said as the Normandy flew tightly around the enemy cruiser and fired it's weapons at every part of the ship, causing massive damage to all quarters.

"Destroy that damn ship!" Blight spat at his crew, earning a frustrated headshake from the weapons controller.

"It's no use sir, the Normandy is flying too close to our hull for us to get a clear target lock, its just too fast and manoeuvrable." he replied, which made the Predacon lieutenant equip his pistol and shoot the Terracon in the back. This earned shocked and horrified looks from the other minions as they looked down at their now dead comrade, as smoke billowed out of the bullet hole in his back.

"Get back to work, I will handle the weapons!" he spat before storming over to the weapons station and began working the holo-interface, gritting his teeth with a building rage as the ship continued to shake with each and every hit it took from the Autobot frigate.

' _Scrap!_ ' he thoughtwhile trying to target the ship, finding it as hard as his now deceased comrade had stated.

The Apollo had gotten itself to a safe distance from Achilles, turning around to see the Predacon ship now in flames as the Normandy continued it's assault.

"Alright Rodimus, we are ready on our end." Hackett said into his com-link.

"Roger that." the Commander replied, and instantly the Admiral witnessed the small frigate pull away from the heavily damaged cruiser before turning back around to face it.

"Ready when you are." Rodimus then said over the com-link, as Hackett looked back at the lead Predacon ship.

"Fire!" he said as both the Apollo and the Normandy fired everything they had at the Achilles, from their torpedo launchers to their Thanix cannons. Every shot hit the target perfectly, causing the ship to be covered in external explosions which shook everyone onboard as if they were caught in an earthquake.

"Commander Blight..., we are taking too much damage. Our power-core is breaching, we have to evacuate." one of the Terracons said with a panicked tone, but the lieutenant merely stood at his station with an accepting look on his face as the CIC fell apart around him.

"There is nowhere to go." he said back, gaining confused and worried expressions from the crew around him as the ship shook hard once again, knocking a few of them off their feet.

"We have to take that chance." another said as he helped his comrade back onto his feet before running out of the room, leaving Blight standing there alone. But just as the Terracons got outside into the corridor, they were quickly engulfed in a fireball that spread up through the hallway and into the CIC. Then everything slowed down around Blight as if time hard come to an standstill almost, as he looked out of the glass canopy at the planet below.

"I am sorry Lord Galvatron, we have..." he started to say before he too was enveloped by the fireball which then destroyed the CIC, before the Achilles suddenly exploded and sent out bits of debris in all directions. This earned cheers from the crews of both the Normandy as they watched the lead Predacon Cruiser become no more.

"Great work, now let's finish this battle." Admiral Hackett said in a confident tone as he looked at his crew around him.

"We are with you all the way." Rodimus replied while the Admiral looked out at the Normandy as it began attacking the nearest Predacon ship, completely ignoring the holo-screen on his right which showed the sensor readings and the plasma storm which had just entered the system and was heading their way.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

As this was happening, Onyx Primal was holding his own down on Virmire as he knocked away Predaking and grabbed Grimwing in a head lock. The green dragon roared and tried to break free as it struggled against the Maximal but since he was in his robot mode, this gave Onyx an advantage over the Preda-Clones. The large orange and black beast recovered and turned around just in time to see his enemy bring his sword down upon Grimwing, separating his head from his body and killing him once and for all.

Predaking's yellow optics widened as it watched it's friend's body drop to the floor in a heap, before looking back at the Maximal responsible and growling back as it bared its teeth.

"Come on!" Onyx goaded as he gestures at the beast, who responded with a deafening roar before pouncing at the Bot, with the stubs that were all that was left of his wings twitching as he did so. But the Maximal Leader was counting on this as he put his hands up in front of him ans caught the Predacon on his underbelly, and using his inertia threw him over onto the other side of the area, with the Dragon landing on it's back and yelping.

"That was great Onyx, now finish him." Quickstrike shouted as he, Orion and the others were still watching from the safety of the shuttle, gaining the giant Bot's attention as he looked over to them.

"You should run now, I will take care of Predaking." he said in a noble and yet telling manner before looking over to the Nemesis, which was busy shooting Autobot fighters out of the air. Orion and his Cousin noticed this, their eyes widening as it dawned on them what he was planning to do.

"You don't need to do this!" the blonde Bot said back with a concerned tone, but Onyx looked back with a knowing expression as Predaking slowly rolled over onto it's belly.

"You know I do." he replied before looking over at Orion.

"Take care of your people Orion." he said, earning a nod from the blue haired Darby who then gestured to the others.

"Let's go guys." he said as they began exiting the shuttle via the opened hatch, while Quickstrike and the Primal looked at each other.

"Go Quickstrike and find your spark-mate, I believe in my spark that she is still alive."

The blonde Bot's face was one of saddened acceptance as he nodded back slowly before leaving with the rest of Alpha team, as Orion took one last look at the Maximal Leader.

"Thank you." he said, gaining a nod from the larger Bot.

"We will see each other again...Prime." Onyx replied with a cryptic tone before turning his attention back to the orange and black dragon, who was now on his feet and roaring back. So the Maximal swung his swords in his hands and charged at the beast.

"Let's finish this Predaking!" he roared while the Predacon followed suit, making the ground shake with each and every footfall they did as they ran at each other. But before the dragon could strike, Onyx threw both his swords at Predaking which embedded themselves in his chest. This made the Beast cry out in pain as it lifted itself on lt's back legs and began to stumble back, so the Maximal Leader followed this through with a shoulder barge to it's underbelly, making it fall onto its back hard.

He jumped in the air and transformed back into his jet-black dragon mode, landing on top of his defenceless adversary and digging his claws into the beast's skin. Orion and the others had stopped just watching as Onyx then spread out his wings and beat them, launching both him and Predaking into the air. And from there the Maximal turned around and flew in the direction of the Nemesis, beating his wings to gain more altitude before he and his enemy were right above it. And then he suddenly went into a steep dive, tightly holding onto Predaking as they descended quickly toward the Predacon battleship.

' _This is where it ends for us...brother._ ' Onyx thought before both he and Predaking then smashed into the engines of the Nemesis, resulting in a giant explosion which took out the entire aft of the ship. But the explosion did not end there, as it then began to spread through out the rest of the ship until it was all engulfed in fire as it was destroyed.

Alpha team looked on at it's firey husk as smoke billowed high into the air.

"We have to keep moving, let's go." Orion said as he looked back from the wreck to his team, a saddened expression on his face. Everyone nodded back with mirrored expressions before they all moved away, but Quickstrike stopped and looked back at the inferno.

' _Good bye Onyx Primal, I hope you find peace at last._ ' he thought before turning back to his friends and following them toward the mountain.

 


	41. Chapter 41

Meanwhile under the mountain, Galvatron and his party were still walking through the dark tunnel, following the light of their torches as it cut through the darkness and showed them the way. But suddenly the entire area shook like an earthquake had hit, making the ceiling of the tunnel crumble as dislodged rocks fell down around the group.

"What in the All-Spark was that?" the Predacon Leader spat as he looked back at Lazerback, who gave him a confused expression in return.

"I do not know my Lord, sounds like something had impacted the mountain above us maybe." he replied in an unsure tone, which made Galvatron narrow his eyes at him before tapping his com-link.

"Rip-Claw, what in the scrap was that?" he spat in an impatient tone, before the sounds of fighting could be heard on the other end.

"Lord Galvatron, we have lost the Nemesis. Its been destroyed." the Femme replied in a shocked voice, making the Predacon Lord's eyes widen in response.

"What!"

"The Autobot's own Predacon just flew himself and Predaking into it's engines and caused it to explode, that's what we saw." she said back.

"Get Skystalker and Grimwing to head for the tunnel's opening." Galvatron replied with a worried tone, one that did not escape the attention of both Jack and Arcee. With the Prime smirking back to his spark-mate.

"Sounds like the Autobots are giving them a hard time." he whispered, gaining a nod from the Femme as they looked back at the Predacon leader, who was still on his com-link.

"Then you better send as many Terracons as you can to the mountain, because I have a feeling that the Autobots are on their way." he said back in an angry and commanding tone.

"Yes my Lord, I will despatch a squad now." she replied before ending the link, as Galvatron looked back into the black of the tunnel ahead.

"Move!" he spat as they carried on.

After a few more minutes of walking through the darkness, Galvatron suddenly raised his arm and made the group stop again.

"We are here." was all he said as the beam of light shone upon a metallic wall which looked completely alien to the rest of the rock around them.

"What is it?" Lazerback asked as he joined his Lord's side, with the Predacon Leader walking up to the wall and touching it's smooth and cold surface with his hand.

"It is what I have been looking for…" he said in return before noticing what looked like hieroglyphics which covered it's entirety, but they could not have been engraved onto the metal surface as he would have felt it with his hand.

"That writing looks almost like Cybertronian?" the Lieutenant said with a curious look, earning a similar look from Galvatron.

"It's from the time of the Thirteen, and what is behind this wall will win us this war." he said before looking back at the Terracons standing around both Jack and Arcee.

"Find me a way in….now!" he ordered, gaining nods from the minions as they then spread out around the wall and began searching as the blue haired Femme looked between the wall and her spark-mate.

"Jack, do you know what this is?" she asked in a worried tone, but the Prime shook his head slightly.

"No I don't, but yet it does feel familiar to me." he replied in an almost cryptic voice, as unbeknownst to either him,Arcee or any of the enemies that were with them, a dim light began to shine just below his neck, under his shirt.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile Ser-Ket found herself in the middle of the battle, surrounded by Autobots and Predacons who were to busy fighting each other to notice. She had calmed down back into her normal frame of body and mind, and was now focused on getting away so she could try and find Quickstrike. But after witnessing that black dragon perform a kamikaze on the Nemesis, which was now a smouldering wreck. She could not help but wonder about the beast, as it looked really familiar to her.

' _That looked like that black dragon from my dream._ ' she thought before suddenly being pulled out of her thoughts as her attention was drawn to Rip-Claw, who was leading several Terracons away from the battle.

' _Where is she going?_ ' the Femme thought before she suddenly felt a hand grab her shoulder, making her look back to see a beasted-out Vertabreak behind her.

"Ser-Ket, what the hell are you…." he started to ask before she grabbed his arm and pulled him into a throw, sending him flying as she made some space between them.

"Sorry, but I don't have time for questions."

The yellow armoured Predacon got back to his feet and activated his holo-blade, preparing for a fight as he stepped between the Femme and her sister.

"Your supposed to be under lock and key in Shockblast's lab, I guess I should put you back in there then." he replied, which made Ser-Ket shake her head in return.

"Leave me be, or suffer Shockblast's fate." she warned, but this just made the Con smirk back at her.

"I think I can handle you….since I am not exactly alone." Vertabreak replied as several Terracons surrounded him and the Femme.

"Really?" was all she said in return before then firing her pistols at each and every one of them, hitting them all directly between the eyes before their bodies fell to the ground like dominoes.

"What the?" he spat before growling back at Ser-Ket, who took on a more defensive stance as she readied herself for a fight.

"I think you will need to become beast-like if you want to beat me." Vertabreak then said as he raised his claws and prepared to attack, but the Femme merely smiled back at him confidently.

"I don't need to, certainly not against the likes of you." she replied with an unimpressed tone, earning a look of anger from the Predacon who narrowed his eyes at her before roaring and launching himself towards her.

Elsewhere, Alpha team had managed to keep themselves out of the continuing battle which had started to become less one sided, as the destruction of the Nemesis seemed to have had an effect on the Predacon ground-force. This had given the Autobots more of a fighting chance, not that it mattered to Orion and his friends.

For all that battle was to them was a distraction, something to keep the enemy busy while they attacked their leader. And that was what they were going to do by chopping off the head of the Predaon war machine, and stopping them before they unleashed whatever horrible things was on this planet.

That was what Orion was thinking right now as he lead the others towards the lone mountain, which was now directly in front them. They all looked so small when compared to the giant rock formation, as the sun started to descend to the horizon behind it, casting it's shadow over the team as they could now see the entrance to the tunnel ahead of them.

"Is it me or has it just gotten a little cooler around here." Nightracer said as the sky over them began to change from blue to red as night started to descend over the planet.

"Yeah, certainly helps with setting the mood for this place doesn't it." Shen replied as Liara looked around the group with a puzzled expression, gaining Orion's attention as he looked back to her.

"Liara, what is it?" he asked before suddenly the Asari brought up a biotic barrier behind them.

"Watch out!" she shouted before an RPG came out of nowhere and hit the field, harmlessly exploding away from the team. But Orion noticed that Liara had been physically effected by the sudden attack as she grimaced, causing her barrier to begin cracking. So as the others took cover behind some nearby large rocks, he grabbed the Asari and pulled her down behind cover beside him, which made the barrier disappear while Shen took a peek though his sniper scope.

"What do you see?" the blue haired Bot asked while he checked his lover, who gave him an appreciative nod in return.

"I see a full squad of Terracons and a woman in light blue and red armour, she looks like thier Leader and is carrying the RPG." the Turian replied, earning an angered expression from Quickstrike which caught the others attention.

"What is it Quickstrike?" Nightracer asked him while Orion gave the Sniper a nod, which made him start firing back at the enemies and made them scatter behind cover.

"That's Rip-Claw, she was the bitch that tortured me back on Omicron and she claims to be Ser-Ket's Sister." he replied, his growing anger evident in his voice.

"Your kidding right, I don't see much of a family resemblance." Shen replied as he took a shot at the Femme, making her duck behind cover.

"Ser-Ket doesn't believe it either but anyway, that bitch knows what has become of Ser-Ket...and I will beat it out of her." the blonde Bot said as he got ready to move, only for Orion to stop him by placing his hand on his shoulder.

"We are with you Quickstrike, but to go out there now would be suicide." he said to his Cousin, earning a knowing nod from him.

"Then how should we go about this?" Quickstrike replied, which made Orion look around at the team.

"We have enough cover around us to keep them at bay, but..." he said back while looking at his Cousin.

"...we don't have the time for that, so Quickstrike and I will take them on. While the rest of you give us covering fire." he added while turning his attention to Shen, Nightracer and Liara, noticing the look of concern on his lover's face

"I am still feeling a little off from that RPG, I don't think I can create another barrier yet." she said with a regretful tone, but the young Darby smiled back at her as he handed his rifle to her.

"Don't worry, you can use this..." he replied as he equipped his pistol and began reaching over his shoulder.

"I have..." he added while grasping the hilt of the Star-Saber and pulling it free of it's holster.

"...this."

Quickstrike looked at the blade, before shaking his head in return.

"I forgot that you had that."

"I picked it up before meeting you in the shuttle, it was exactly where I left it." the blue haired Bot replied.

"On the crew deck where we got sucked out into space." Liara questioned, gaining a nod from her lover in return.

"Yep, the repair crew couldn't remove it. So they left there, wish they could have seen me pull it out of the deck with no problem."

"Hey guys, how about some help here?" Shen suddenly jumped in, regaining the others attention as he continued to fire at the enemy, taking down two of them as he spoke.

"Right, Quickstrike...let's go." Orion said as he tapped his Cousin on the shoulder, both of them moving off.

"Good luck." Liara then said, making the young Darby look back with a loving expression.

"You too." he replied before the cousins moved away, using the large rocks as cover.

"Okay, covering fire." Nightracer said in a commanding tone as she, Shen and Liara began firing on the Terracons, causing them to halt their advance once again.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

"What are you waiting for, get down there and kill them!" Rip-Claw spat as her Terracons took cover behind the nearby large rocks, just in time to miss the onslaught of bullets that the Autobots fired back.

"It's no use Commander, they have a good defensive line over there. We cannot simply rush them, as they would most likely rip us apart." the Terracon beside her said back, earning an angry stare from the Femme as she grabbed him by the throat.

"Why are you hesitating, just beast out and rush them." she replied while tightening her grip around his neck, making him gasp for air.

"But….we….can't,,,,all….." the minion tried to say before his neck snapped in her hands, to which Rip-Claw merely dropped his body back to the ground uncaringly.

"Terracons….Terrorise!" she roared as the other soldiers looked back at her for a second before nodding back and roaring, as they engaged their beast-modes. Their bodies grew slightly larger and more muscular, while their overall looks became more ferocious. And then all of them charged towards the Autobots, unknowingly passing Orion and Quickstrike who were sneaking past while using the rock formations as cover.

"Err, they are charging right at us." Shen stated with a nervous tone growing in his voice while continuing to fire at them, only for the shots to the bodies only slowing them down and not stopping them for good.

"Aim for their heads then." Nightracer replied as she fired short bursts with her rifle, taking down two in quick success as blood spilled out of their head wounds. The Turian quickly nodded and re-corrected his aim, taking down three in just as many shots. Liara too killed one, but yet there were still six left and they were over the halfway point towards the group.

"They'll be on us in seconds." the young Vakarian said while gunning down another, as Liara looked down at the Femme's utility belt.

"I have an idea." she said in return as she took a hand off her rifle and grabbed a grenade from it, before then focusing her biotics so that her hand and the grenade began to glow with blue energy.

"What are you….?" Nightracer began to say before the Asari lobbed the explosive into the path of the charging Terracons, who took no notice of the glowing blue object before it suddenly exploded, filling the immediate area with an expanding blue light as every Terracon in range was suddenly catapulted into the air before landing hard on the rocks.

"How did you?" the Femme began to ask, only for Liara to cut her off.

"I charged the grenade with biotic energy, call it a 'lift grenade'."

"Great work Liara, now let's take them down quickly!" Shen replied as the three of them then stood up and fired back while the enemy troops tried to recover.

Meanwhile Rip-Claw looked on in complete disbelief as she watched her troops fighting the Autobots, her anger growing to boiling point at how their enemy was able to resist. But just then, the Predacon's attention was caught by a familiar scent.

"I recognise that smell…" she said aloud before quickly ducking under Quickstrike's attack as he swung his holo-blade at her and in one move, quickly turned around and punched him in the stomach, sending the Bot flying to the ground as she activated her beast mode. The Bot quickly recovered as he watched Rip-Claw transform before him, a confident smile appeared on her face as she looked down at him.

"Are you really that eager for another beating? I mean you didn't stand a chance against me the first time we met, and I do miss our little torture sessions." she said while flexing her claws, looking down at the Bot who activated his other holo-blade and took a defensive stance.

"That's not going to happen this time…" he said before launching himself at the Predacon, swinging his blades at her and making the Femme go on the defensive, as she dodged each and every one of the attacks before one sliced her cheek. But this just served to anger her more as Rip-Claw then went on the offensive and with one hit, broke through Quickstrike's attack and stunned him before grabbing him by the throat.

"You were saying?" she replied with a growl, while holding his head close to hers.

"…I…meant…because…" he tried to say while the Femme tightened her grip around his neck, which made her ease it slightly as a curious expression appeared on her face.

"Go on?"

"..because I didn't come alone." he then managed to say, making Rip-Claw's eyes widen in shock, before spinning around just in time to see a silver and blue armoured man with blue hair lunge a Cybertronian blade at her, which ran through her stomach and made the Predacon grimace and groan in pain as she dropped the blonde Bot.

"Didn't see that coming did you?" he said before nodding at his Cousin.

"Thanks Orion."

"Don't mention it." the young Darby replied before pulling the Star-Saber back out, making Rip-Claw fall to one knee in front of them.

"Now, tell me what has happened to Ser-Ket and we will make this quick." Quickstrike then said in a serious and threatening tone as the Femme looked up at him with a disgusted expression.

"That's it? After everything I did to you at Omicron, the torture and murdering the people you knew, that wretch is the only thing on your mind?" she answered with a painful laugh, while holding a hand to her stab wound which was slowly bleeding out. The blonde Bot though let his anger get the better of him as he then grabbed her by the hair with one hand and held his holo-blade to her throat.

"WHERE IS SHE!" he spat as he narrowed his eyes at her in an enraged stare, while she continued to laugh before spitting out a slither of blood.

"That traitorous wretch is dead, you hear me?" she said back with an almost gleeful tone.

"You lie!" Quickstrike quickly replied as Orion looked on, holding the Star-Saber ready as he watched as a worried expression grew on his face.

"She was being held prisoner on the Nemesis, now look at it and tell me that she survived that?" Rip-Claw answered back, which made Quickstrike glance over to Orion with disbelieving expression before looking back at the burning husk of the Predacon battleship.

"No, she can't be…." he said as the Femme observed his anguish, taking delight in it as she smiled.

"It's what she deserved, I just wish I could have seen her final moments."

This made the blonde Bot look back at her, his expression quickly changing back to enraged as his anger took control again, but the Predacon continued her taunting.

"She no doubt called your name."

So Quickstrike quickly held his holo-blade at the injured Con's neck again, looking completely ready to end her life.

"I will send you to the pit!" he spat, before she smiled back with a knowing expression and suddenly took the Cousins by surprise and in one quick motion, got to her feet and grabbed them both by their throats, making Orion drop the Star-Saber which fell to the ground below him.

"Did you really think that wound would be enough to stop me?" she asked while looking at both Autobots in her grip, which was tightening so much around their wind pipes that they were quickly gasping for air. The Femme then slammed their heads together before dropping them back to the ground, observing the Bots as they tried to recover.

"I will send you to see Ser-Ket very soon…" Rip-Claw said to the blonde Bot, who was still on his back and holding his hand to his forehead as a cut bled from the area. But she then turned her attention to the blue haired Bot who had managed to roll over onto his front and look back to the others, but his vision was blurring from suffering a concussion. And he could just make out Liara and Nightracer as they were fighting hand to hand against two remaining Terracons, while Shen was lying on the floor.

"..but you look familiar to me." the Predacon added before kicking Orion in the side and making him roll onto his back again, before taking a deep sniff of the air over him.

"You smell like the Prime and that wretch of his, well that is a surprise." she said in delighted tone.

"Well before I kill you, you should know that they are still alive…..well just…." she started to say, earning the Bot's attention as he looked back at her, his vision slowly starting to correct itself. But what he saw next was Rip-Claw pinning him down to the floor with her foot on his chest, slowly applying extra pressure on his armour as she tried to push her foot through his body and onto the ground beneath him.

"…but they will join you, as soon as Lord Galvatron gets whatever he wants from them." she taunted with a smile before raising her claws above her, readying herself for the killing blow.

"Rip-Claw, leave them alone!" a female voice suddenly shouted, earning both the Predacon's and Quickstrike's attention as it sounded so familiar to them. The blonde Bot rolled over onto his stomach and looked up at the ridge to see the most beautiful sight he had seen in a good while, as standing there in yellow and green armour was Ser-Ket, who was aiming an avenger rifle directly at the surprised Rip-Claw.

"What? But you were on board…" was all the Femme could say as she stepped off the young Darby, as her former Sister cut her off.

"I managed to get off the ship before it was destroyed, killing Shockblast before doing so." she said which made the Predacon narrow her eyes back at her, making Ser-Ket smile.

"..And also Vertabreak on the way here."

"You really are not my Sister any-more, are you. Since it is now so easy for you to kill your brethren." Rip-Claw spat as she left Orion and Quickstrike, walking towards the new arrival while the latter was still looking at his lover with a disbelieving expression.

"If I have learnt anything in the last few days, it is that I am not related to you or any Predacon." Ser-Ket replied as she took a fighting stance and activated her holo-blades, gaining a smile from the Beastial Femme.

"You going to fight me like that, didn't you learn anything from our last encounter?"

"I did actually, but I am not about to lower myself to your standards to win a fight." the former Predacon answered, gaining an enraged roar from Rip-Claw who lunged at her. Ser-Ket quickly dodged the attack before slicing at her adversary, cutting the Beastial across the chest.

"Arrragh!" the light blue and red armoured woman cried as blood began seeping from the wound, staining her armour. But even though she was still bleeding out from the gut wound Orion had given her, Rip-Claw let her growing anger continue to fuel her body. The Femme looked down at the blood before returning her attention to her former sister, gritting her teeth as she narrowed her eyes,

"I will kill you!" she spat while lunging at Ser-Ket again and again, with the Femme dodging each attack. Using her smaller and more athletic figure to her advantage, as Rip-Claw now was far larger and slightly slower

' _I can't let her hit me in her current state, or else it will knock me senseless like last time._ ' she thoughtwhile ducked under a swing of the Predacon's claws, following through with a roll to make some distance between them, ending up back on her feet as she turned to face her.

Meanwhile Quickstrike had managed to get up onto never his knees as his head had finally stopped spinning, never taking his eyes off his lover as she fought their common enemy.

' _Kick her ass Ser-Ket._ ' he thought as he watched her gain another strike on Rip-Claw, as she made another deep cut on the Predacon's chest-plate. This further enraged the Beastial who then swung her right arm at her former Sister, which made her duck again. But then the blonde Bot's eyes widened as he watched the Predacon swing an uppercut with his left arm, catching Ser-Ket by surprise as it made contact with her chin. The strength of the hit took the Femme right off her feet and sent her flying back on to the ground hard.

"SER-KET!" He shouted in a panicked tone, earning the Beastial's attention as she looked over to him.

"Wait your turn." she taunted before looking back at her Ser-Ket, who was lying on her back and bleeding from her mouth. But just as she was about to walk up to her, Rip-Claw suddenly stopped and looked between the two with a thoughtful expression, one that ended with a sinister smile.

"Actually, now that I think about it…" the Predacon started to say as she turned round and walked over to Quickstrike, as the Bot slowly got to his feet.

"..There will be nothing more painful for you, than to watch your Autobot die." she finished, as the blonde Man threw a punch at her that the Beastial easily blocked, before grabbing him by the throat yet again.

"No…" Ser-Ket cried weakly as she looked over to see her lover in the grips of her former Sister, who was intent on ending his life.

' _I can't watch him die, I have to do something._ ' she thought, realising that just like Shockwave, there was only one way she could save him and their friends.

"You can close your eyes if you want, this will only hurt a lot." Rip-Claw said as she looked into the Bot's eyes while raising her free hand, readying her claws for one final blow. But he just looked back at her with a defiant stare before his attention was suddenly caught by something behind her, making Rip-Claw turn around and see Ser-Ket getting to her feet whilst changing into her own Beastial form.

"Finally, I knew you still had some Predacon in you." the light blue and red armoured woman said in a delighted tone, while her former Sister narrowed her eyes at her and pointed a claw at her.

"You hurt him again…..and I will make you suffer." she growled while bearing her sharp teeth.

"What….like this?" Rip-Claw replied before throwing the Bot away, letting him land on one of the rock formations that littered the area.

"You Bitch!" Ser-Ket roared as she charged at the Predacon, who looked back just in time to see the Traitor tackle her to the ground. The yellow and green armoured Femme than slashed continuously at Rip-Claw, spilling so much blood as she drove her claws deep into her adversary's chest. But the Predacon replied by grabbing her enemy's right shoulder and digging her claws in deep, making Ser-Ket cry out in pain while blood spilled out of the wounds.

This made her pause as Rip-Claw then punched her in the face hard with her free hand, knocking the Femme off and back onto the ground. Ser-Ket tried to recover quickly, only for the Predacon to kick her in the face and and back to the ground. And then she slashed at her former Sister's back, dragging her claws over the armour and cutting deep into her flesh. This made the Femme grimace and yelp as she felt a sharp white hot pain in her back, but that was quickly replaced by even more agonising pain as Rip-Claw kicked her in the side several times.

Ser-Ket winced and gasped as it felt like her insides were being destroyed by the Predacon's continuous strikes, it only stopped when the former sister rolled over onto her back which only made the pain feel worse.

Rip-Claw looked down at her adversary, smiling down at the Femme as she withered in pain. So she leaped onto Ser-Ket and pinned her to the spot, holding her arms in vice-like grips.

"You never had a chance, you traitorous wretch." the Predacon said while looking down at her with a self righteous stare, before she then looked over to the blonde Bot who was only just now beginning to recover as he tried to sit up, no matter how much pain he felt.

"Look at him Ser-Ket, at the Autobot you chose over us." she said with a venomous tone, making the former Predacon look over and lock her eyes onto Quickstrike's as the two just looked at each other.

"Do you realise how weak you have become, how his influence has changed you? When our Lord Galvatron re-awoke us, you were strong like the rest of us...like me..." Rip-Claw said as looked back down at the Femme with pity in her eyes.

"But that Autobot has poisoned your spark, ripping you from the rest of us...your family." she added before looking over at the two Terracons, taking not that hey had beaten the other Autobots as Liara and Nightracer joined their Turian friend on the ground. With the two Beastials staring down at them.

"You, soldier!" the Predacon called, gaining the attention of both as the looked over to her."

"Yes, you...come here." she said as she nodded to the Terracon standing on the right, with him nodding back in return before walking towards her as she looked back down at Ser-Ket.

"He has made you weak, of body and mind." she said, as her former Sister looked back with a pained and unsure expression.

"Don't listen to her Ser-Ket." Quickstrike suddenly said, gaining the attention of both her and Rip-Claw. The former looking at him with a wide eyed stare, while the latter merely narrowed her eyes back before turning her attention to the Beastial that was approaching them.

"Restrain him." she said, gaining a nod from the Terracon while Ser-Ket quickly looked back at the Predacon with a shocked and despaired expression.

"He needs to die..." Rip-Claw then said with a cold malice to her voice as the Terracon then grabbed Quickstrike by his arms and twisted them behind his back, before lifting him onto his knees and stood over him.

"...and with his poisonous influence gone, the damage he has caused between us will heal. And you can once more be a Sister to me, ...and a Predacon again." Rip-Claw added as Ser-Ket kept her attention on Quickstrike, who struggled against the Terracon's hold. Only for it to tighten it's grip and growl at him, making him stop and look back at her.

"Ser-Ket, you told me that you never really felt like you were a Predacon in your spark, that you were something else...arrrgh!" he then managed to say before the Beastial's tightened it's grip more, throwing him off his sentence in an attempt to shut him up. But the Blonde Autobot kept his attention on his lover, looking at her with a determined and yet caring expression.

"...but I don't care what that is...because I love you regardless of any of it...arrrgh!" he cried again as the Terracon inflicted pain on him again.

"Let's silence him for good, kill him." Rip-Claw then said, which made Ser-Ket look directly at her former Sister with a dagger like stare as her beastial eyes narrowed. The Terracon nodded back before opening his jaws and lowering them toward the side of the Autobot's neck, readying itself for the kill.

Rip-Claw smiled as she watched, but that expression soon changed to one of confusion as she suddenly felt her hands moving off the floor with they were still gripping Ser-Ket's arms. She looked down to see the Femme gritting her teeth, and growling deeply as she focused all her strength into her arms, lifting the Predacon away from her.

"Rip-Claw...Get OFF!" she roared before throwing her sister off herself, with the Predacon landing on the ground with a thud a few metres away, which made the Terracon stop and look back in surprise. But Ser-Ket was quickly back on her feet before launching herself at him, ripping the Beastial from her Lover before sinking her teeth into the it's throat and tearing it out, spraying a blood-like liquid onto the floor. Orion and the others watched with wide-eyed expressions as Ser-Ket turned her attention back to Rip-Claw, while the Terracon bled to death on the floor beside her.

"Rip-Claw, I never felt like I was one of you and certainly not like your Sister. But I know now without a doubt, that I am not nor will I ever be...a Predacon." she spat before launching herself at the surprised Femme, who tried to defend herself as the enraged Beastial lunged at her with her claws bared. But Ser-Ket was too much for Rip-Claw, slashing at her arms and legs which made the Predacon fall to her knees in front of her.

"What...?" was all she could say back, while her former Sister looked down at her.

"What? I'll tell you 'what' I want right now. For you to shut up and die!" she spat while grabbing both sides of Rip-Claw's head with an extremely tight grip, that made the defeated Femme stare back with widened eyes and an expression of agony. Ser-Ket then pulled the Predacon's head right off her body in one swift action, with blood spraying everywhere as Rip-Claw' spine dangled from the underside of the decapitated head.

"Wow." Orion said in a wide-eyed stare, as the former Predacon then held the head in one hand and roared at the top of her voice in to the heavens above them all. It was at this moment, the only remaining Terracon suddenly fell to his knees and bowed his head in what could only be described as a submissive gesture.

"What the hell?" Shen said as he noticed this, while Liara and Nightracer getting back to their feet and joining his side. Meanwhile, the Terracons battling the Autobots at the nearest edge of the massive ground-War then heard the roar, suddenly stopping what they were doing and looking over to the area it echoed from. This finally gave those ISF soldiers, made up of numerous member species including Krogans, Turians and Asari the chance they needed, and they took it as one after another, the distracted enemies were taken down.

As that was happening, the younger Darby was still staring at Ser-Ket, his expression was one of both marvel and fear at the sheer ferocity and raw power that he had witnessed from both her and the now deceased enemy, who's head she was now holding in her hands. But his attention suddenly changed to his cousin, who had got back to his feet and was now approaching Ser-Ket while still in her beastial form.

"Quickstrike?" he called over, only for the blonde Bot to wave him off.

"It's okay Orion." he said, as Ser-Ket turned her attention to him. But despite her almost monstrous appearance, she looked at him with an affectionate stare.

"Ser-Ket?"

"Are you alright?" she asked as he stood before her, with her larger and more muscular figure overshadowing him.

"Yes, thank you." Quickstrike replied as they pair looked into each other's eyes before leaning in close and touch their foreheads, with him gently stroking her cheek as she closed her eyes and enjoyed his touch.

"I thought I lost you." he said softly with relief in his voice as he let her sweet scent flow over him again, with her sighing sweetly in return.

"So did I." Ser-Ket replied before her eyes widened and she pulled away, turning from him with an ashamed reaction.

"What's wrong?" Quickstrike asked in a surprised tone, while everyone just stood and watched them.

"I don't want you to see me like this." the Femme replied, but then she again felt his touch, as the Bot cupped her face with his hand and gently brought her eyes to his again.

"As I said earlier, whether your beast-like or not. I love you." the blonde Bot said back with a soft and affectionate tone, which made the former Predacon smile back slightly as a single tear ran down her cheek.

"I love you." she said as Quickstrike wiped the tear away before leaning in close, making her do the same until they kissed. And once again their sparks were ignited in the pleasure of being together again, and they wrapped their arms around each other and intensified their embrace. And as it felt like time was slowing down around them, Ser-Ket calmed down and reverted to her normal athletic human-like figure, which allowed Quickstrike to fully wrap his arms around her.

"Hey guys." Shen then spoke, earning the pair's attention as they stopped and looked at him with what the others could only describe as an annoyed stare, which made the Turian feel slightly embarrassed.

"Thanks for the save Ser-Ket." Orion then said with an appreciative smile, with the Femme giving a nod in return as she looked around at the others, all who had mirrored expressions to his own.

"Yes….its good to see you again." Liara added before Shen, who was still slightly embarrassed had now turned his attention to the submissive Terracon.

"What is it with this guy?"

This then made the rest of the team look in his direction as he kept his weapon aimed at the enemy, who was still on his knees with his head bowed. Ser-Ket let go of Quickstrike and began walking over to the Terracon, a knowing expression appeared on her face as she stopped directly in front of him. This made the soldier, bend down more as though he was frightened of her which did not go unnoticed by Orion and his Cousin.

"He's afraid of you." the blonde Bot stated, earning a nod from the Femme.

"He is, because I killed his Commander. So he now hopes that I will accept him as my minion."

"You mean its like with a group of animals, where the strongest leads the group. But if he/she is challenged and killed, then the others will follow the victor." Nightracer asked.

"Yes, exactly." the former Predacon replied.

"Then all we need to do now is kill Galvatron, which should then stop his Terracons and end this conflict completely." Orion said.

"That is correct Orion…." Ser-Ket replied, though Shen sighed in return as he shook his head.

"Why do I feel a…..'but' coming on."

This earned another annoyed look from Nightracer, while Orion and Quickstrike ignored him and kept their attention on the latter's lover.

"It will not be easy." she said in a matter of fact-like tone, earning a nod from the young Darby.

"Yeah, I know. I fought him before."

"And he nearly killed you." Liara replied with a concerned voice, gaining his attention as he looked back and saw the growing worry in her eyes,

"I underestimated Galvatron before, allowed my anger to get the better of me. I will not make that mistake again." he said back, gaining nods from everyone including the Asari. Though she looked a little more hesitant than the rest, though Orion tried to reassure her with a smile before turning his attention to Ser-Ket and the Terracon.

"Will he help us?" he asked as the Femme looked down at the submissive minion.

"Will you follow my orders?" she asked in a commanding tone, earning a nod from him as he continued to look a the ground.

"Yes, Commander. My life is yours to do as you wish." he replied.

"Then stand and fight with us." she said, which made the Terracon look up at her and stand back up, earning a smile from the blue haired Bot.

"Good, then let's get going. I just hope we are not too late." he said before the group started for the tunnel's entrance as Ser-Ket walked side by side with her lover.

"Quickstrike, while I was being held aboard the Nemesis, I found out some rather disturbing truths about my past…" she started to say, making the Bot stop himself and her before he put his hands on her shoulders in a supporting and caring gesture.

"Whatever it is, we can talk about it when this is done.." he began to say while looking into her eyes.

"..but no matter what it is, there is no way that it will change the way I feel about you…..okay?" he added in a soft and loving voice, which made the Femme sigh in return as she nodded back.

"Okay, thanks Quickstrike." she said back.

"Come on, before the others think that we are falling behind." he said before holding out his hand to her, which the former Predacon took in her own as the pair carried on to the mountain to catch up with their friends.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Meanwhile Galvatron was becoming more and more aggravated as he stood and watched Lazerback and the Terracons at his side, fumbling around the ancient wall as they searched for a way in.

"How much longer will this take? We have already been here far too long." the Predacon Lord said in an increasingly angry tone, which made his Lieutenant turn back to him.

"I apologise my Lord, but there does not seem to be any way into it. The wall is without any gaps or cracks, as the surface is completely intact and without seals. Can't that blade you recovered from Scissio help in any way?"

Galvatron unsheathed the Chaos Edge from the back of his armour and held in before him, but the blade remained dark, not even remotely glowing like it had in the past.

"I do not believe that this will be of hel…" he started to say before finding himself stopping, as he felt a familiar presence surround him.

" **Look at the Prime, Galvatron. He is the key.** " Unicron's voice spoke into his mind, making the Predacon Leader turn and look back at Jack.

"Bring the Prime to me." he ordered the two Terracons who restraining Jack, who both nodded before escorting him to their leader. Galvatron then looked the older Darby up and down, wondering what it could be that could help.

"I brought you here for a purpose, now what could it…." he said before his eyes suddenly focused on the dim light, which could just be seen under the Human's shirt. This made the Predacon Lord's eyes widen as a hopeful expression appeared on his face.

"Of course, your Matrix. Take it in your hands and approach that wall." he commanded while pointing at the metallic blockade ahead of them. But the Prime just stood there, looking back at him with a uncooperative stare.

"Fine, have it your way…." Galvatron replied as he walked past Jack and pointed the Chaos Edge right at Arcee's throat.

"..if you don't do as I say, I will kill your spark-mate. So that she can be reunited with those you have already lost."

"Jack…." the Femme managed to say as she felt the sharp tip of the blade touching the bare skin of her throat, but the Prime shook his head and reached down under his shirt and pulled out the glowing Matrix crystal.

"Alright, don't hurt her." he said in a reluctant tone, knowing that he already had lost his son and did not want to see his spark-mate killed. So he held the glowing crystal in his hand, which then mass shifted into the recognisable gold and silver relic with a bright shining crystal at its heart.

Jack then sighed before walking toward the ancient wall, with the Terracons and Lazerback stepping aside as he did so. And with every step closer he came, the matrix would shine that much brighter until the hieroglyphics on the wall began to glow brightly as he got closer.

"This is it." Galvatron stated with a dark smile as the mountain was suddenly hit by another tremor. Shaking their surroundings as Jack stopped right before the wall, which now had all of it's writing lit up. The older Darby then had a look of both complete understanding and dread, fully understanding what this could be.

' _I know what this place is now, Primus forgive me._ ' he thought as a bright white light suddenly appeared from the top of the wall and went all the way down it's center to the ground in a straight line, before wall began to separate, revealing a blinding white light that enveloped the entire group and expanded through the tunnel.

 


	42. Chapter 42

When the light died down, everyone walked through the now open doorway and found themselves standing inside what looked like a massive domed hall, which was the size of at least ten combined football fields. The interior had the same writing decorated on it's surface as it had on it's exterior, glowing with energy now as though the matrix had given it that sudden spark of power. Galvatron marvelled at the sight now around him as took in every detail of the temple, with its massive curved ceiling overhead.

"This is incredible." he said as Lazerback raised his hand and pointed over to the very center of the hall, at the giant circular pattern on the floor which all of a sudden began to rise up out of the ground, in with a structure to it similar to an Aztec pyramid. That was what Jack thought it looked like as he and Arcee watched alongside the Terracons, as the ground rose up to at least the half way point of the height of the entire temple. The Femme could not believe what she was seeing, her eyes wide as she looked at it.

"Jack, that is amazing. You could fit Omega Supreme on that platform and still have room above him for more." she said before looking over at the Prime, who had a worried expression on his face.

"Jack, what is it you're not telling me?" she asked with a concerned tone, not noticing Galvatron now standing in front of the pair as she looked at the older Darby.

"It's because the Prime here knows what this place is, this 'Infinite Combinatoric'." he said, earning the Femme's attention while Jack just looked back at the Predacon Leader with a self righteous stare, though Galvatron just smirked back at him.

"It's a place that will give us Predacons our ultimate victory, and all we need is the Matrix of a Prime...namely your Spark-mate." the Predacon Leader added before looking over to Jack and motioning him to come forward, as a staircase appeared on the raise platform allowing access to its summit.

"After you Prime."

The one-armed Man sighed as he took the lead of the group, with Galvatron and Arcee behind him. Lazerback and the other Terracons followed them as the group began walking up the stairs towards the summit, as more of the temple started to life as Jack held the matrix in his hand.

The Autobot Leader was the first to step onto the summit of the circular platform, which itself was at least four football fields in width and length. And the ceiling was still quite the distance overhead as Galvatron and Arcee joined him, with Lazerback and the soldiers remaining on the stairs.

The Predacon Leader looked over to the center of the platform, noticing a small glowing circle at the very center which began to pulse, and so made the older Darby's matrix pulse in unison.

"Now Jackson Prime…." Galvatron said as he equipped the Chaos Edge and pointed at the platform's center.

"..you and I will walk together to that spot, where we will activate this temple and use it for the purpose it was built for."

But Jack just narrowed his eyes at the Predacon Lord, a knowing look on his face.

"Why? So you can resurrect Unicon, the Chaos Bringer."

This earned a shocked look from Arcee and all the Terracons, including Lazerback as they heard this.

"Unicron." the Femme gasped, not expecting to hear that name again after what had happened twenty-five years earlier.

"My Lord, what is the Prime on about?" his Lieutenant asked with a puzzled expression, which made Galvatron stare daggers back at Jack. But the older Darby just smirked at him.

"Didn't want them to know….did you." he said, making the Predacon Lord grit his teeth as he raised his arm in preparation to back hand the prisoner.

"Leave him alone!" a voice suddenly called out from the direction of the Temple's entrance, making Galvatron pause as he and everyone in the group looked down at the doorway to see another group standing just in front of it. The Predacon's eyes narrowed as he recognised Orion and his friends, which made him grip the hilt of the Chaos Edge ever more tighter. While both Jack and Arcee's eyes widened as they saw their son standing there.

"By the All-Spark Jack, Orion's alive!" the Femme said with a disbelieving expression, which quickly changed to a thankful smile that was mirrored on her Spark-mate's face too.

"And he is carrying the Star-Saber." he said in surprise as he looked at his Son, who had the ancient Autobot relic in his hand. But the pair were the only ones in the group that were happy to see him, as the Terracons and Lazerback all aimed their weapons at the Alpha team.

"What the hell is Ser-Ket and one of our own doing with the Autbots?" the Lieutenant asked, though Galvatron did not answer as he simply looked down at the blue haired Bot, his anger building with every second that passed.

Meanwhile on the ground, Orion looked up at the summit and saw that his parents were alive, though not well by the look of them, and this made his spark burn as Liara stood beside him.

"Mum…Dad." he muttered as he looked up at them, gaining the Asari's attention.

"Your parents are right there Orion, we can rescue them." she said in supportive tone, earning a nod from him in return.

"Yeah, and Galvatron is going to pay for what he has put them through." he said, earning a concerned look from his cousin who was on his other side with Ser-Ket.

"Don't forget the mission Cuz." he said, earning a nod from the blue haired Bot.

"I know…" he replied before glancing at all his friends on either side of him.

"..so I am going straight for Galvatron." he added, gaining nods from the others as Ser-Ket looked over to him.

"We will cover you." she replied, before their attention was caught by the sight of the Predacon Lord pointing down at them as everything went quiet for a moment.

"Crush them!" he then spat, with his voice echoing through the vast temple, as his Terracons began to pull the triggers of their weapons.

"Lets Move!" Orion shouted in return as he and his team rushed at the pyramid, with Shen staying back to use his sniper-rifle on the enemies who returned fire, showering the Autobots in gun fire which impacted the ground around them causing sparks while the Alpha team continued to run an toward the raised platform. More than half of the Terracons mirrored them as they ran down to the ground to meet their enemy and stop there advance, while the remaining Cons stayed on the high ground and fired covering shots. But one after another was taken down by the Turian Sniper's weapons fire, as he could see his friends take on the Predacon soldier's before them.

Galvatron and Lazerback watched from the summit of the pyramid-like platform, with their Autobot prisoners keeping their attention on their son, who their saw charging toward their position with the Star-Saber in one hand and his pistol in the other, shooting down any Terracon who got in his way. But as he shot one in the leg, making it fall to it's knees so he could cleave it's head off in one move with his Saber. Three more suddenly rushed him, but before they could pounce, one of their number was suddenly covered in blue energy and then thrown into his comrades, knocking them down like bowling pins. This made the blue haired Bot glance back to see Liara, seeing the Asari hold up one Terracon with her biotics while stretching out her other hand toward him, a supportive smile on her face.

"Go get them Orion." she shouted over, gaining a mirrored expression from him.

"Thanks Liara." he said back in an affectionate tone before turning around to see another Terracon before him, so he cut it down and ran past.

Meanwhile Quickstrike was busy taking down a enemy with two shots into it's legs, making it fall to it's knees before he slit it's throat with his holo-blade. He then turned to his left to see Ser-Ket and her Terracon minion in it's beast mode as she kicked another enemy into it's hands, before lifting him into the air and tearing his stomach out as she shot another in the face with her pistol. So he looked back to his right and saw his Cousin nearing the pyramid-like platform as another hulking Terracon stood in his way.

"Ser-Ket, over there!" Quickstrike shouted, gaining a nod from the Femme who gestured to her beastial friend who then threw the heavy body of it's kill at the oncoming Terracon, with it impacting the enemy and sending it crashing to the ground. Orion looked back and gave a thumbs up to both his Cousin and the former Predacon as they then teamed up to fight another enemy that closed in on them.

Meanwhile Nightracer was close to the blue haired Bot as she used he holo-Bo staff to trip up a Terracon, who fell onto it's back and then ran rammed it through the enemy's open mouth and out through the back of it's head.

"Nice kill." she heard Shen say through her com-link, earning a smile from the Femme as she pulled the staff back out and turned to look back at him, smacking another Terracon in the face and sending it onto it's back. She then gave the Turian an appreciative smile, that he saw through the scope of his rifle before he then looked over to see two more enemies in front of blue haired friend, as he got even closer to the stairs.

Orion knew he was close as he charged at the two enemies that stood before him and the foot of the pyramid-like platform, so he spun the Star-Saber in his hand and fired his pistol at them both, hoping to hurt them enough for him to finish them up close. But suddenly both their heads ruptured as a two bullets passed through them, spilling out blood as they fell down to the ground. So the younger Darby looked back to see his Turian friend and saluted him before running up the stairs.

"I've got you covered Orion." Shen replied as he then shot down the last two remaining Terracons who stood on the slope either side of the Spectre, who then began running up the stairs while his friends were still tied up in fighting the remaining enemies, though Liara managed to catch a glance of her Lover while stopping another Con with her biotics.

' _Good luck my love.'_  she thought before slamming it down onto the hard ground.

Both Jack and Arcee watched their son as he started up the stairs, and they could not help but smile as they felt nothing but pride for their child. Though their attention was then cruelly snatched away, as Galvatron grabbed both of them while he looked over to his Lieutenant.

"Lazerback, kill him!" he spat as he started to drag the parents towards the circular platform's center, gaining a nod from the Predacon who then looked back down the stairs at the young Bot. He then roared as he let his body transform into it's beastial mode and launched himself at his enemy, bolting down the stairs at the Autobot.

But Orion was over a quarter of the way up the stairs when he noticed this, so he dropped his pistol and grasped the Star Saber's hilt with both hands and held it over his head, concentrating on it as the blade began to glow. And just as Lazerback got close enough, he launched pounced at the blue haired Bot who then swung the Saber down in front of him and sliced the Predacon in half, killing him instantly as both his halves fell either side of the young Darby while continued running up the stairs unhindered.

"Wow." Quickstrike said as he caught the moment while looking up at his Cousin, who then reached the top of the stairs,

"Galvatron!" Orion shouted as he ran towards the Predacon Leader, who turned round and looked at him with a disbelieving stare which quickly changed as he smirked back.

"Very well…" he replied while casually pushing both Jack and Arcee to the ground either side of him and re-equipping the Chaos Edge, taking a defensive stance as the Bot got closer.

"…show me what you've got boy." he added as Orion began to swing the Star-Saber at Galvatron's head, as the Con quickly brought his blade up to block it. But just as both swords were about to touch, suddenly the entire Temple became enveloped in a plasma storm. Green and Orange energy bolts shot through the structure and hit every single person currently engaged in battle, knocking down Liara, Quickstrike, Ser-Ket, Nightracer and Shen as well as any Terracons still standing. They all cried out in pain as the energy hit them and passed through their bodies, causing them to fall to the ground and spasm with wide-eyed stares as they saw the storm rage around them.

At the summit of the pyramid-like platform, Jack and Arcee were on their knees when they saw the colourful bolts of energy suddenly envelope themselves and Orion and Galvatron. But only the two combatants were struck by the bolts, earning similar reactions as the pair fell to their knees and dropped their blades. Both the Prime and his Spark-mate watched in both surprise and disbelief as the storm continually hit their Son and the Predacon leader, it was as if it was intentionally taking pleasure in causing them pain with each bolt.

But the storm was not confined to the interior of the temple as it completely surrounded the planet Virmire in all its entirety, its bolts of energy quickly bringing an end to battle both on the ground and the one in orbit as the lightning hit each and every ship on both sides, as well as the troops on the ground.

But while his friends had been quickly subdued by the bolts of energy, Orion gritted his teeth and tried to get onto his knees while reaching over to the Star-Saber, and Galvatron did the same as he kept his attention on the young Bot.

"Your…not…going...to have…this day…Galvatron." the Spectre managed to say without biting his tongue as he gripped the hilt of his weapon, but just as he tried to get back to his feet which was extra difficult because all of his being felt as if it was on fire. He was suddenly hit by another bolt of energy.

"Arrrragh!" he screamed before falling down onto his back, earning a look of anger and regret from Galvatron as he gripped the hilt of the Chaos Edge and got to his knees.

"No….I….will….not…be...denied!" he spat while holding the blade up in the air as if he was ready to strike, but it was for nothing as another green and orange bolt of energy struck it, passing the energy down into the Predacon Leader and cause him to seize up.

"Nooooo!" he cried before falling back onto the floor, leaving Jack and Arcee as the only two people unaffected, like they were of no interest to it.

"Orion!" Arcee shouted in a concerned tone while attempting to move to her injured Son's side, as he lied on the floor motionless. But Jack stopped her, as he suddenly saw two pairs of bright lights looking down at them from just below the ceiling. One pair was orange and the other was green.

"They look like optics." the Prime said aloud in a fearful and yet curious tone, earning his Spark-mate's attention as well as those of the lights, which appeared to look down at them.

" **Fleshings, your fighting here has ended!** " a female voice suddenly boomed from the green optics, which could be heard not only in the temple but all over the planet.

Orion managed to open his eyes despite the pain, and looked up at the optics staring down at them.

" **We only have one question before we destroy you?** " a male voice spoke angrily from the orange pair of eyes, which appeared to narrow as they looked down at them.

" **What have you done to our 'brothers'?** " he asked before everything suddenly went dark around the Bot as though unconsciousness had taken him.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

All of a sudden, the fire and pain that Orion had felt encompass every fibre of his being was gone and replaced by a calmness that felt alien to him. The Bot found it difficult to describe, but he felt as though he was either floating with his arms and legs stretch out in the middle of a lake, or floating in mid-air.

" **It is time for you to open your eyes.** " the female voice suddenly spoke out of nowhere, breaking the Spectre's calmness and making him open his eyes.

"What the?" he said in a confused tone as he quickly rose up to his feet, finding that there was nothing but darkness around him.

"Orion!" a familiar voice suddenly spoke, making the blue haired Bot spin around to see Liara standing there looking just as lost as he was.

"Liara." he replied as the pair quickly pulled each other into an hug, taking what little comfort they could in the fact that they were real.

"I was in so much pain, more than I thought possible." the Asari said, gaining a nod from Orion as he held her close.

"Me too." the Bot said back as she then looked over his shoulder with a wide-eyed expression.

"Orion, your parents." she said, making him pull back and turn around to see both Jack and Arcee standing there.

"Mum, Dad!" he exclaimed as he then left Liara and ran over to his parents, his lover watching him with a thankful smile as he first hug his Mother.

"Orion, thank the All-Spark your alright." the Femme replied before pulling away so that he could then do the same to his Father, which earned a surprised but loving expression from Jack as they hugged.

"It's good to see you Orion." he said back with a proud tone to his voice.

"You too Dad." the Bot replied before they separated, which let their Son see the damage that had been done to his Father.

"Wait…are you?" he started to say, as concern filled his voice as he looked down at the stump which was all that was left of Jack's arm.

"I'm okay…but we have bigger problems right now." he replied as he looked around at the darkness surrounding them.

"Who is this Orion? She looks familiar." Arcee then asked as she looked at Liara with a curious expression, which made the blue haired Bot gesture to the Asari to join his side.

"This is Liara, we are…" he began to say before his Father suddenly cut him, unintentionally so.

"I feel like I have been here before, or at least somewhere similar." he said aloud, gaining curious looks from the others.

"What do you mean Dad?" Orion replied, trying to refocus on the matter on hand as now was not the time to introduce his parents to his girlfriend, while his Mother gave Liara a reassuring and yet perceptive smile.

"Well last time, the surroundings were crystallized and not in this state of darkness." the Prime said back, gaining a nod from his Spark-mate.

"You mean when you spoke to…" she started to say before another voice spat at them from behind.

"You Bastards!"

Everyone spun around to see Galvatron standing behind Orion and before anyone could react, the Predacon Lord thrust his fist into the Bot's chest.

"Orion!" Liara cried out, as she was found wrong footed and unable to help. But in that instance, everyone including the new arrival had looks of confusion on their faces as Galvatron's fist had passed right through the Autobot Spectre as though he was a hologram or a ghost.

"What in the pit!" he spat as he pulled his fist back out and stepped back from the blue haired Bot.

" **There will be no violence committed for as long as you are in this place.** " the disembodied female voice suddenly spoke out, as the two pairs of green and orange balls of light appeared overhead, looking down upon the group.

"No one tells me what to do!" Galvatron spat before the orange pair of eyes narrowed at him angrily.

" **You will do exactly what we tell you to do, abomination.** " he spat back, gaining curious looks from both Jack and his Son as that last part of the voice's sentence did not go unnoticed by the pair. But then a look of understanding suddenly appeared on the Prime's face as he took a step forward, looking up at the lights as Arcee gave him a worried expression of her own.

"Jack, be careful." she said, but her spark-mate ignored her as he stood under the glowing eyes.

"Your Aeons, aren't you?" he asked with an insightful tone.

" **You know of our kind?** " the female voice spoke back from the green orbs.

"Yes, I knew Primus." the Prime replied, which made the orange eyes narrow as they stared daggers back at him.

" **And you killed him, didn't you?"** the male voice spat, making Jack take a step backwards, taken aback by what was just said.

"No, I didn't." he replied.

" **Do not lie to us, we heard our 'brothers' screams and travelled here to this galaxy, following what remained of their individual life-forces. And what do we find, that you carry the last of Primus around your neck, and that which is left of Unicron has been blended with the life-force of this abomination here.** " the male voice continued to rage, making everyone look at Galvatron who just stared angrily back but remained quiet.

"What do they mean….abomination?" Liara asked, before Jack looked at the Predacon Leader.

"He's a clone, a clone of Megatron, that's it isn't it." he said, making Galvatron grit his teeth and narrow his eyes at the Prime.

"You and your entire Predacon army, except for the Mercs of course….are clones." he continued, making their adversary step towards them and point his finger with a building anger in his spark.

"Clone or not, I have taken a hold of my own destiny and shaped it in a way that Megatron never did." he spat back.

" **And you did this with Unicron whispering in your mind, we can him even now.** " the female voice spoke from the green lights, while the orange ones floated down to eye level with Jack and Galvatron.

" **They have yet to answer our question, what happened to our Brothers?** "

"And we will tell you, but first who are you?" Jack replied.

" **My name is Garuda and this is Vok.** " the female voice replied as the lights remained over head.

" **We are Aeons as you have already guessed. And we are here to find out what happened to our Brothers Primus and Unicron, since this galaxy was under their joint guardianship.** " she added, gaining a nod from Jack as the others listened though Galvatron looked as if he had heard enough.

" **Yes, and we find their last embers here at this mechanism which is of our technology.** " Vok said in return, earning a curious look from Orion.

"What does this place do exactly?" He asked and before the Aeons could speak, his Father stepped in.

"Orion, from what I can gather..." he started while holding the Matrix in his hand.

"...this place or 'Infinite Combinatoric' as Galvatron called it, was built by Solus Prime using knowledge given to her by Primus. It's exact purpose is to resurrect a deceased Aeon using a remaining piece of it's CNA, or that of sibling or a family member." the Prime replied.

" **That is correct**." Vok said, regaining the two Darby's attention.

" **You know of us through the knowledge that this piece of Primus** **has granted** **you.** " he added as his orange glowing eyes focused on the Matrix, gaining a nod from the Autobot Leader.

"Yes, it carries the knowledge and wisdom of not only Primus, but also that of his Primes."

" **Primes? We do not know of that term.** " Garuda replied with a curious tone.

"Then perhaps you should see for yourself then." Jack said back as he held up the matrix for the Aeons to see, but then Galvatron suddenly stepped forward and held up his arms.

"Please mighty Aeons, do not fall for this Autobot trick. They wish to deceive you from what is really happening here." he said, gaining the attention of both pairs of lights as they looked at him.

" **Then by all means speak and enlighten us, prove that you are more than an Abomination.** " Vok replied, which made the Predacon Leader smirk a little as he glanced over to Jack.

"As you already know, I carry the remaining slither of Unicron's essence within my spark. I am doing this not because it just happened to be, but because it is my destiny to do so. To bring the Aeon back to life after his own Brother and those that followed him brutally ended his life, just when he was about to bring great change to the galaxy."

"That's a lie!" Orion spat, which made his Father old out his hand to him in a restraining-like fashion. Though all this did was make Galvatron smile back at the blue haired Bot before returning his attention to the Aeons above him.

"I am here to use this temple to revive Unicron, and for that I require the last part of his traitorous Brother's spark...that Matrix." the Predacon Leader added as he pointed to the glowing crystal relic in Jack's hand.

" **But even if what you say is true, none of it makes sense.** " Garuda replied with an unconvinced tone.

" **Our way has always been to watch over and** **nurture** **life in the galaxies, not make any changes** **to it** **. That has never been our way, ever since th** **e** **great tragedy...** " she started to say before trailing off, which Orion noticed and looked curiously at.

' _What great tragedy?_ ' he thought while Vok looked down at them.

" **But we did arrive here to find the two parties fighting over this place, perhaps what the Abomination says is true. That Unicron was betrayed by Primus, they did not always see eye to eye on all matters.** "

" **When do we ever make decisions without knowing both sides of the story first Vok?** " Guaruda said back, with everyone below them just listening and waiting.

" **Of course you are right Garuda, we need to know the exact details.** "

Then both Aeons turned to the two leaders, Garuda with Jack, while Vok looked at Galvatron.

" **Will you let me see our fallen Brother's memories please?** " the female asked, earning a nod from the Prime in return.

"Of course." he said back, before holding out the Matrix to her.

" **I am going to enter your spark and witness Unicron's memories, you will feel some discomfort.** " Vok said to the Predacon Lord, who nodded and held his out his hands T his sides.

"If that is what you require, then do it."

Then both sets of lights merged into two separate energy streams, with the green one flying into the Matrix crystal and the orange one flew directly into the center of Galvatron's chest, which made him grimace and spasm for a long moment.

The Aeons minds mixed into the two remnants of their brothers, their thoughts and memories joining until everything was revealed to them. Images and sounds flowed over the minds of both Karuda and Vok, enlightening them on the eons that had passed between the two Brothers. And a long moment later and it was over as both Aeons remerging from both the Matrix and Galvatron, with the Predacon stumbling backwards a little as he readjusted himself.

" **We have seen enough, and find that there is only one option for you to take.** " Garuda said as she and Vok looked back down at the group, earning looks of trepidation from Liara, Arcee and Orion while Jack simply remained calm.

"And what is that?" he replied with a curious tone, gaining a similar look fro Galvatron as he kept his attention between the Prime and the Aeons.

" **Your sides have fought over this place for the right to use it, we have decided that your battle should continue.** " Vok said back, earning a smile from the Predacon Leader.

"Excellent, I shall have more troops here momentarily…" he said while raising his hand to his ear-piece, only for the green lights to shine down on him brighter.

" **You will find that impossible, nor is it necessary.** " the female Aeon replied, gaining an angered and confused expression from him.

"What do you mean?"

" **We have already neutralised the forces of both your sides and we are now communing with you via your minds, which we have joined temporarily.** " Vok carried on, as Orion looked at his parents and Liara, before turning his attention back to the Aeons.

' _I wonder why the others aren't here?_ ' he thought.

" **We can hear everything you can think of.** ' the Aeon added, making the blue haired Bot stare back with a wide-eyed stare of surprise.

"Oh..okay, so…?"

" **They were not necessary for this conversation…as you called it, so they are all left unconscious. The ones called Jackson Prime and Galvatron were chosen because they are the bearers of the remaining life-forces of our Brothers, you yourself were chosen because you wish to save the Prime and stop your enemy. The Females called Liara and Arcee were chosen because of how important they are to you and him.** " Karuda said, gaining curious looks from Orion's parents, making them look between their Son and the Asari.

"Yes, Liara is very important to me…" he said back in both an affectionate and determined tone, which made Liara smile back as she watched him.

"…so know that we know why we are here, what happens now?" he continued.

" **Your conflict will be concluded, but the only combatants will be Primus and Unicron's bearers, in a fight to the death.** " Vok replied, which made Orion, Arcee and Liara stare back in a wide-eyed look of shock before turning their attention to the Prime, who nodded in return as a content expression appeared on his face.

"….Very well.

Galvatron simply smiled, as though he knew that his victory had just all but been garenteed, though Orion quickly walked in front of his Dad and held his hands up to the Aeons.

"No wait, you can't choose my Dad." the Bot said, stealing the thunder from his Mother who no doubt was about to say the same thing.

"Orion…" Jack replied as he placed his hand on his Son's shoulder, gaining his attention as the blue haired Bot turned and looked at him with a worried and concerned expression.

"It's okay, this is my job…remember?"

"No, you are in condition to take on Galvatron in a fight to the death…" he started to say with his voice heavy with emotion, before turning back to the Aeons.

"…you can't ask or tell him to do this."

"If he is their choice, who are we to question?" the Predacon Leader cut in, gaining a narrowed eye stare from the Bot, who clenched his fists tightly.

"Nobody asked you." the blue haired young Man said back, while the green lights focused on him.

" **But Jackson Prime is the bearer of Primus, who would you have take his place?** " Garuda replied, which all of a sudden brought a thoughtful expression to Orion's face as he looked ahead.

"Orion…?" Jack asked as he attempted to gain his Son's attention, but Liara saw the look on her Lover's face and began to shake her head slightly as though she knew what he was thinking.

"I'll take his place." the Spectre said, earning wide-eyed looks from all there including Galvatron, though his was more of surprise than the trepidation that clearly written on the faces of the Asari and his Mother.

" **Are you sure?** " Vok said back in a questioning tone.

"Orion…..no." the blue skinned woman said in a quiet and fearful voice as she moved to his side, while Arcee looked at Jack to do something. But as Orion turned round to face his parents with a content and determined look on his face.

"I won't let you fight and die in a battle you had no chance of success…" he said as he glanced at where his Father's lost arm used to be, before his eyes then met Jack's as the Prime stared back with an look of understanding on his face.

"..I have to do this, I mean I can carry the Star-Saber after all. That has to mean something?" the Bot added, gaining a nod from the older Darby.

"Alright." he said while smiling proudly at his Son, as he placed his remaining hand on the younger Bot's shoulder. The young blue haired Man then looked at his Mother, who looked as though she was fighting to keep the tears at bay as her eyes began to well up.

"You look after yourself out there, you hear me. Don't even give 'him' an inch." the Femme said, her voice full of emotion as she gestured toward the Predacon Leader who had crossed his arms while waiting for the fight to start.

"I promise." Orion said before he and his Mother then hugged, the blue haired woman holding him tightly as though she never wanted to let him go.

"I love you Orion."

"I love you and Dad." he said before glancing to his Father, who nodded back."

"Same here Son."

The Spectre then let go of his Mother and turned to face Liara who had a single tear running down her chin, so he stepped in close and wiped it off with a finger.

"Orion…" she started to say as he leaned in close, until their foreheads almost touched.

"Ssshh, it's going to be alright Liara." he replied in an attempt to calm her down, though she simply looked him in the eye with a disbelieving stare.

"The last time you faced Galvatron…..he almost killed you."

The Bot's parents watched as their Son and his Lover talked, as the Aeons remained overhead and watched them all.

"I already said I won't make the same mistakes as last time, do you trust me?" Orion asked in a quietly confident and calm tone, earning a nod from the Asari who looked down. Only for him to gently lift her face back to his with a finger on her chin, so that their eyes met each other again.

"So trust me now." he added before gently pressing his lips against hers in a kiss, which made Arcee's widen a little as she watched before the pair pulled back enough to look at each other again.

"I'll be back before you know it." he added with a lop-sided grin, one which made Liara smile back gently before he turned and faced the Aeons.

"I am ready." he said in a calm and accepting tone, while ignoring the smirk that Galvatron was giving him from a few feet away,

" **So you will fight for Primus, while Galvatron fights for Unicron.** " Vok then said, earning a nod from both Men.

"Yes," they answered in unison, while the Bot's parents stepped beside his Lover and watched.

" **We will power up the 'Infinite Combinatoric' in preparation for the victor.** " the male Aeon continued as Garuda looked down at the two men.

" **Let the fight begin.** " Garuda added before everyone was suddenly enveloped in a blinding white light.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Orion opened his eyes to find himself standing at the outer edge of the pyramid-like platform, and immediately his attention was caught by the sight of the Temple around him, which was suddenly alive as energy vibrated through it's walls and up into the ceiling. But as his eyes followed the energy up, they widened as he found that the ceiling was no longer there. In fact the mountain which had been overhead was now broken up into large chunks that were floating in the air above, being held up by the bolts of energy shooting out of the walls of the temple.

"Wow…" he whispered in disbelief as he then saw the Matrix floating at the very center of where the ceiling used to be, being held in place by four beams of energy which were being emitted by the four quadrent points of the structure. It appeared to be powering the temple, which looked more like a giant mechnism now then it had before, but then he was pulled out from his thoughts as he looked down from the platform to see Liara and his Parents alongside the others, who were watching from the safety of the ground. He nodded at them before turning back round and looking over at the center of the circular platform, slowly walking toward it as he glanced up to see the cloud building over the floating mountain chucks and energy bolts that ran through them. The night had fallen over their side of Virmire and yet he could just make out both the green and orange sets of glowing eyes, knowing fully well that the Aeons were still watching.

"Orion!" a voice suddenly called from the other side of the arena, which made the Bot look in that direction to see Galvatron standing there with his Chaos Edge in hand.

"So all that stands between myself and Unicron…is you, this is going to be too easy." the Predacon Leader taunted, though the blue haired Bot simply stared back as he unsheathed the Star-Saber from the back of his armour, holding it at his side.

"No, it will certainly not be easy Galvatron. You are going to pay for every atrocity you have committed, that is a promise." he replied in a determined and yet calm manner, which made Galvatron's smirk grow a little wider in return.

"Then by all means….give me your best shot…boy!" he spat back before holding his blade with both hands and running at the Bot, making Orion hold his blade just behind him as he did the same. He quickly ran out of the view of his friends and family who watched from below, earning a fearful sigh from Liara, who might have said a prayer for her lover had she been religious.

But as the Combatants charged at each other, quickly lessening the distance between them as they sprinted. Galvatron quickly moved his blade behind him in preperation to swing it at his foe, but Orion just kept his own ready behind him as they both entered attacking range. Which made the Predacon swing his weapon at him, only for the blue haired Spectre to suddenly dive into a roll as the blade cut through the air above him.

"What!" Galvatron spat as Orion quickly sprung back to his feet and spun around with his blade, making his adversary quickly bring up the Chaos Edge to block it. The two then clashed their swords several times, causing small red and blue sparks with each hit before the Autobot deflected one hit and punched the Predacon Leader in the face, making him step back slightly. So Orion smirked as he then concentrated and spun around on the spot, making the Star-Saber glow blue before he then hit Galvatron square in the chest and sent him flying through the air to the far side of the platform.

The Predacon hit the floor hard and felt a burning pain under the chest-plate of his armour, making him grit his teeth as he forced himself back to his knees.

' _What in the pit was that?_ ' he thought before suddenly feeling the need to look up and saw Orion swinging his glowing Saber down upon him, so quickly brought his own up in time for their blades to clash, which resulted in a blue energy wave expanding out from the pair and quickly absorbed by the walls of the temple. Galvatron then pushed the Spectre back, forcing him to stumble slightly as the Predacon got back to his feet. Then both Bot and Con then charged into each other again, duelling with their blades for another long moment before the Predacon managed to kick Orion in the chest and send him onto his back a few yards away.

"Lets see how you like it!" Galvatron spat before he held up the Chaos Edge, which began to glow red as the blue haired Bot got back to his feet.

"Take this!" he roared as he swung the blade around and unleashed an energy wave that hurtled toward the Autobot, but Orion quickly raised the Star-Saber over his head as it glowed a bright blue again while he focused and brought it down just in time to cut the wave in half, passing by him harmlessly.

As the energy hit the walls behind him and again was absorbed into the mechanism, the blue haired Bot suddenly felt weak as though that one action with the blade had drained him somehow. But before he could process any of it, Galvatron was suddenly right in front of him and punched the Spectre hard in the chest which knocked the Autobot to the ground hard, making him drop the Star-Saber which clanged loudly as it followed suit.

"You are putting up a better fight than last time, boy." the Predacon Leader then said as he stood over the young Darby, looking down at him with what almost looked like respect.

"But you must have known that you did not stand a chance against me, so…yield and I can promise you a swift death?" he added, gaining Orion's attention as he looked up at his adversary.

"What? So that you can bring back Unicron and unleash Chaos over the galaxy…..never!" he spat, making the Predacon Lord stare back with a surprised but angering expression.

"I will never yield to you, not now or ever." he added as he raised himself onto his knees, while Galvatron glared down at him.

"Have it your way then, but know that I will make everyone you care for suffer terribly before I kill them…" he replied with a knowing look, which the Spectre could guess who he meant.

' _My family and friends…..and Liara!_ ' he thought, which made his spark burn with anger as he looked into the red eyes of his enemy.

"….starting with you!" Galvatron continued before thrusting the Chaos Edge down at Orion, who just managed to move aside just enough for the blade to miss him and embed it self into the ground.

This made the Predacon's face suddenly show a shocked expression as he tried to pull the sword from the ground, but it was quite deep as Orion calmly got back to his feet and looked back at him with a slight smile.

"My turn…" he started to say before placing one foot onto the Chaos Edge and used it to launch himself into the air and jump kick the Predacon Lord in the face, making him stumble back as the blue haired Bot landed and took up a fighting stance as he remembered the martial arts training that he had learnt from Master Prowl.

"Why you little…"Galvatron started to say in a enraged tone before he was suddenly stopped by a fist to the face, as Orion took advantage of the situation and launched himself at the Predacon. This made his adversary recoil but then the blue haired Bot punched him in the stomach and again in the face, making Galvatron spit out some blood as he stumbled back again before the Spectre then hit him with a roundhouse kick to the same spot, which knocked him to the ground. Then as the Predacon Leader attempted to get back to his feet, while his bruised face stung from multiple hits. Orion quickly picked up the Star-Saber and began to charge it again.

"..you will pay for…." the Clone began to slur before his sight focused enough to see Orion charging at him with the bright blue Saber, but could not move fast enough as the Autobot slashed him again, sending the Predacon flying back across the arena and hit the ground hard on the other side.

Orion then stood on his side of the platform where his family and friends could see him as they looked up from their position at its base, while he watched Galvatron pick himself up yet again.

" **Galvatron, you can end this quickly if you just use my power and your beast mode together.** " Unicron's voice suddenly spoke, echoing in the Predacon Leader's mind as he looked at his enemy.

' _Very well._ ' he thought before he suddenly roared to the heavens as his body began to deform and change right in front of the Autobot's eyes, which widened as he took note of what was happening.

' _Oh shit.._ ' he thought while down on the ground floor, Ser-Ket could not help but recognise the roar that echoed throughout the Temple, earning a worried look from the Femme which was noticed by Arcee and Liara.

"Oh no." the Asari whispered as she clenched her hands in worry.

"I will have your spark!" Galvatron then spat as he in his beastial-form charged at Orion, with the Choas Edge in one hand and his other being extremely sharp claws. This made Orion dive into a roll as he got out of the way, just as the Predacon was about to strike which just angered his enemy even more as he turned around.

"Fight me!" he roared while lunging with the Chaos Edge, which the blue haired Bot managed to deflect with his own Saber. But Galvatron then swiped the Autobot's chest plate, cutting through it and ripping some flesh which made the Bot grimace. But even as the sharp burning pain throbbed in the wounds, the Spectre stood his ground and managed to block another attack from the enraged Predacon Lord as he deflected the Chaos Edge and also his claws in quick motion.

But the young Darby had now found himself on the constant defensive, as Galvatron just kept coming. And with each and every attack, he began to glow with a purple hue which just seemed to make him stronger as each of his blows and strikes felt like a wrecking ball.

Despite his best efforts, Orion was being quickly weakening from the heavy hits and strikes that Galvatron was dealing to him, despite deflecting each and every one of them, for it felt like each successful block was tiring him some more.

" **He is nearly beaten, finish him my Herald….now!** " the Chaos Bringer said with a joyous tone as the Predacon Leader managed to slash the Bot's cheek, spilling blood as he was forced to stumble back into view of his friends and family.

They saw him stumble and this made everyone's eyes widen as they helplessly watched the Predacon then hit Orion in the chest with his fist, making Orion nearly keel over.

"Orion!" Liara and Arcee shouted in unified horror as the Bot stopped himself from falling by using the Star-Saber as a stop-gap.

Galvatron smirked as he then prepared to hit the young Darby again, who looked virtually beaten as he breathed heavily. But just as he threw his punch, the Spectre suddenly brought his remaining strength to bare and swung the Star-Saber up, slashing the Predacon across his chest. This action brought cheers from his Parents and friends who were watching from behind him as well as a cry of pain from Galvatron, who was now bleeding from a wound across his chest.

"Enough!" the Clone then cried out as he clenched his fist and back-handed the Bot so hard, it spun him around to face his friends and family who looked back in horror, as he dropped the Star-Saber which fell down the side of the pyramid-like structure with several clang-like sounds.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock as they then witnessed Galvatron raise the Chaos Edge up behind the Bot and thrust it through his back, making it burst through his chest as the blue haired Spectre then cried out as his nervous system was overloaded by a white hot pain that was too much for him to take.

"You lose!" Galvatron spat as he then twist the blade while it was in the Autobot's chest, making the blood pour out more which made Orion look down at the sword which was sticking out of his chest. His eyes widened at the shock of it before he started to feel extremely weak as everything around him started to darken as the last of his life bled away. But as darkness began to take him, the last sound he heard was Liara screaming his name and then everything went silent.

 


	43. Chapter 43

Liara stared up at the summit of the pyramid-like platform, her eyes wide and full of grief as she saw Orion Darby, her friend, her Lover being run through by Galvatron's blade. And at that very moment, all sound around her was drowned out by the beating of her own heart. She did not even register her own scream as she cried out Orion's name and apart from the feeling her same heart being ripped from her body, the Asari felt numb all over. She suddenly tried to move toward the platform, but was stopped as both Quickstrike and Shen had grabbed her arms and held her back.

"Liara, you can't help..." the blonde Bot said whilst a tear ran down his face, his voice full of emotion.

"He's right." the Turian replied in a mirrored tone , as Nightracer and Ser-Ket just looked on in complete shock.

Jack meanwhile was holding an inconsolable Arcee, tears flowing freely from her eyes as she sobbed into his shoulder. He too had tears running down his cheeks as he looked up at the Predacon Leader, a look of pure hate and grief in his stare to which their enemy only smirked back before sliding the Chaos Edge back out of the blue haired Bot, letting his limp body fall back onto the platform's cold metallic floor.

"I win!" he then roared up at the heavens while walking toward the center of the platform, before pointing his sword up at what he seeked, knowing that the Aeons were watching.

"Now if you would be so kind, give me the Matrix!" he added with an evil smile, which was met by the glowing Autobot Relic suddenly floating down to him very slowly. But Galvatron just stared at it with a gleeful hunger as he held his outstretched hand to it, eager to feel it in his grasp.

' _At last,_ _our destiny is in our hands Unicron_ _._ ' he thought feverishly, as he felt the Chaos Bringer's presence once more.

" **Yes my Herald, the age of Chaos is upon us.** " he replied in a hopeful tone.

Meanwhile Liara had just witnessed her Lover's body casually dropped to the floor by the Predacon Leader, before he walked out of sight. This combined with been held back by her friends finally pushing her over the edge of grief and into anger.

"Let go of me!" she spat as her biotics flared, covering her body in a blue glow which gave both Quickstrike and Shen a painful shock.

"Oww!" they said in unison as they released the Asari who bolted up the stairs to the pyramid-like structure's summit, not giving a damn that she had just hurt her friends.

This had gained the attention of both Jack and Arcee, with the Femme looking up at the summit before her desperate expression returned as she faced her Spark-mate.

"I…want to see him." she asked in an almost pleading like tone, as more tears ran down her already soaked cheeks.

"Alright." the Prime replied as the pair began to walk over to the pyramid, before he looked back at the others.

"Stay here." he said, earning understanding looks from all but Nightracer, who had a mirrored look to her former Lover's Mother.

"Please…stay." he added, gaining a nod from the Femme as she looked down at the ground.

' _I know Nightracer and Orion were close, but this is diff….._ ' he tried to think, but found his thoughts wavering as his own grief threatened to overwhelm him completely. So he looked away from the others and instead helped Arcee up the stairs.

As the pair ascended up the stairs towards the summit, the trepidation of knowing what they were about to see when they reached the top hung over them, making their spark/heart sink further into the despair. But they continued upwards, for they had to see their Son with their own eyes, no matter how painful it would be.

When they reached the summit, Jack could see Galvatron near the arena's center with his hand outstretched towards the Matrix which was descending towards him. But then the Prime's attention fell to the body lying only a metre or two away, earning a gasp from Arcee who started to sob again as she turned and pressed her face into his chest. Jack though kept his eyes on the body of his dead son, as another tear ran down his face.

"Oh Jack…tell me… it isn't… so." the Femme stammered between sobs, but all he could do was hold her as he watched Liara on her knees and leaning over Orion's body.

"This isn't how it's supposed to end?" he muttered faintly.

Liara lifted Orion's upper half of his body from the ground and pulled it into an embrace, his limp head resting on her shoulder as she wept freely.

"You can't be dead, you just can't. I don't believe it, not after…." she said in a grief-stricken tone, as her tears continued to flow.

"…you said you had a destiny, how can this happen if it was true," she added as she then lay her head on his and just held his body close, feeling how cold his skin was to touch.

"I need you my love." she whispered.

_Orion opened his eyes to find himself staring at what looked like a beautiful night sky, one without a cloud in sight as the thousands of stars that filled it were shining back brightly._

_'Okay, that's pretty and all. But where did the temple go?' he thought to himself before getting into a sitting position and noticing that the ground beneath him looked and felt like crystal. The Bot then continued to look around to see that his entire surroundings, including the mountains in the distance were all crystalline in their look. It all looked so beautiful to Orion, but then his thoughts were suddenly drawn back to himself as he instantly remembered what had happened only a moment earlier, quickly placing his hand on his chest to feel the wound that Galvatron had caused him by running the Chaos Edge through the Bot's chest._

_'What the?' the young Darby thought as he ran his fingers over the spot on his chest, but found nothing. The chest-plate of his armour had the damage, but his skin underneath was perfectly fine._

_'How is that possible?' he thought with a confused expression as he stared down at his chest, only for his mind to come up blank. So he got to his feet and took a better look at his surroundings, but everything was crystalline as far as the eye could see._

_"Where am I?" he said in worried and confused tone._

_"You are with us." a deep commanding and yet noble voice spoke, which made the Bot turn around to see that he was no longer standing there alone. For thirteen giant beings stood there before him, all of them looked like the Cybertronians he had learnt about as a child. The same ones that his own Mother used to look like before taking on humanoid form with the Pretender Tech. Each one of these thirteen looked to be wearing some sort of armour, though they all looked different from one another. One Cybertronian floated above the others while surrounded by an energy field, while another had a pair of wings on their back. But they all stared down at Orion with their blue optics, making him feel more than a little nervous as they towered over him._

_'They are the Thirteen.' he thought as one of them, a Bot who had blue coloured legs and a red torso stepped toward him and knelt on one knee. His armour looked more like the exterior of one of Earth's large ground vehicles, and Orion's eyes widened as he recognised who it was._

_"Your Optimus Prime." he gasped, gaining a nod from the former Autobot Leader as he looked down at the young Darby._

_"Yes. And you are Orion Darby, Son of my good friend Jackson Prime. The rest of the Thirteen and I have watched you for your entire life, observing the decisions and choices you have made."_

_This made Orion gulp as he looked up at the Prime and listened, feeling the optics of the others watching him as he stood there._

_"You have been watching me, why?"_

_"Because before Primus sacrificed himself to defeat Unicron and his Reapers, he chose two people who would succeed your Father as the next Primes. And the first was to be you."_

_The blue haired Bot could have sworn that his spark stopped beating for a moment after hearing that sentence, taking a deep breath as his mind began to fill with questions._

_"Me, I don't understand. I mean…I guess I kind of do, since I can hold Star-Saber, but….why me?" he asked in a humbling tone, but Optimus just looked back at him with a knowing smile._

_"I know you feel that you are not worthy of being a Prime, neither your Father or I wished for such a fate either for ourselves either. But it is the choices made on our journey through life that shaped who and what we are. And like us, you have shown that you are courageous and willing to sacrifice yourself for the protection of all. These are the traits of a Prime, making you worthy to carry on our legacy."_

_The young Bot nodded back as he gave the Prime a serious look, pushing aside the doubts that had plagued him though out his life._

_"Very well, I will accept this honour with all that I am." he answered in stoic tone, earning a nod from Optimus and the others._

_"You will now become the new Leader of the Autobots, you shall continue to lead and protect this galaxy in Primus's name, though that is not all that you must do, but there is not enough time to explain that. So wake up now and take the Matrix in your hands….and rise…..Orion Prime." the older Bot said, while a bright light started to surround Orion, blinding him as everything went white._

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

Back in the temple, Liara continued to hold Orion close before she suddenly felt his chest rise and fall, making her eyes widen as the Bot suddenly opened his eyes and take a breath.

"Orion!" he gasped as she pulled away just enough to look at him, gaining his attention as he looked into her eyes. Arcee and Jack both looked down at the pair, complete surprise and relief on their faces as they saw their son.

"Hi." Orion said, almost making the Asari and his Parents mouths drop in return.

"Hi." she said back in total surprise before pulling him back into a warm embrace, the blue haired Bot returning it in kind as Jack smiled back at Arcee. But before any more could be said, the younger Darby pulled away from his Lover, who noticed his expression becoming more serious.

"I have a job to do." he said in a cryptic manner, which made her and Arcee look back with a slightly confuse stare. But Jack knew what he meant as the two gave each other a knowing look as his Son got back to his feet. Everyone watching from the ground saw this and breathed a collective sigh of relief as they looked up and saw this.

Meanwhile Galvatron was completely oblivious to what was happening behind him, as his attention was focused on the Matrix as it descended towards him.

"At long las..." he started to say as the Matrix was just inches from his grasp, when it suddenly changed direction and floated past him.

"What?" he spat in confusion as he turned around, his eyes following it like a Hawk. That was when he spotted Orion, who was standing at the platform edge with his hand outstretched towards the relic as it moved towards him.

"Impossible!" the Predacon Leader exclaimed as he unsheathed the Chaos Edge and started running at the Bot.

"Guys stand back." Orion then said, earning a nod from Liara and his Parents who backed away as they watched him. But just as the Matrix came within his grasp, Galvatron leaped and swung his blade down at him.

"No!" he exclaimed in desperation as he brought the blade down on the Bot, but just as the Chaos Edge came within a centimetre of the Autobot. The Matrix floated into his hand, causing Orion to become engulfed in a blinding white energy, one that knocked the Predacon Lord onto his back with a grunt as he dropped the Chaos Edge.

But no one else was even slightly interested as they were all focused on the blue haired Bot, who they could barely see through the blinding white light that had surrounded him, making them shield their eyes with their hands. Liara through keep her fingers separated just enough to peek through despite the light's strength, and could just make out the silhouette of her Lover while noticing that the armour that he was wearing was being transformed.

And then in the blink of an eye the light vanished, and there standing before them all was Orion in a familiar and yet new version of the Prime armour. It had a dark navy blue colour, and was still very sleek and lightweight in it's design. The recognisable red stripes with their thick silver outlines remained, still running down his arms from the new more sleeker shoulder guards all the way to his gloves. And on center of his chest plate was the Silver Autobot insignia with Red outline.

"Wow." the Asari said, as she and the others looked back at him in awe. The blue haired Prime then held out his hand to the Star-Saber, and the sword suddenly rose off the ground and into his grasp, with his grip tightening around it's hilt as it's blade began to glow a bright blue. He then turned his attention to Galvatron, staring at him with a stoic expression as the Predacon Leader got back to his feet.

"This is the end of the road for you Galvatron." Orion said, earning a hateful glare from his adversary as he picked up his blade.

"I killed you once…boy, Prime or not…I will do it again!" the Predacon Lord spat as he lunged at the new Prime, who deflected the attack with the Star-Saber. And for a long moment, the two clashed their blades multiple times. Though this time, Orion was the more focused and controlled one as his adversary was becoming more desperate. But then Galvatron attacked with a an overhead strike, which the young Darby stopped by raising his weapon up to block it before following through with a kick to the Predacon's stomach, making him stumble backwards as he grunted.

Everyone watched as the clone recovered and attacked the Prime again, their blue and red blades clashing several more times before the young Darby spin kicked Galvatron in the face, sending him down to the ground hard,

"It is over….surrender." the blue-haired Bot said in a serious tone, but the Predacon shook his head as he got up again and charged at him.

"Never!" he exclaimed in a fanatical tone as he attacked with both his claws on one hand, and the Chaos Edge in the other. But Orion was way ahead of him as he dodged one attack and deflected another, before spinning around and unleashing an energy wave that hit Galvatron and sent him flying across the arena.

"That's our son, Jack." Arcee said in a proud tone and smile, earning a mirrored look and nod from the older Darby as they and Liara watched Orion walk over to the Predacon, who was again picking himself off the ground.

"This was my destiny!" the Clone spat as he thrust the Chaos Edge at the Prime, but the blue haired Bot dodged it as he threw the Star-Saber in the air and grabbed Galvatron's attacking arm and twisted it, making him drop the blade before the Prime then back-handed him with his free hand. The Predacon was spun around by the force of the hit, while Orion reached up and catched his own Saber again after it fell back toward him, before looking back at his adversary.

"You don't get it Galvatron…" he replied as the clone turned back round and stared daggers back at him before leaping back at him with claws bared, roaring as he did so. But Orion in a calm and professional manner, thrust the Star-Saber forward and impaled the Predacon Lord through his chest, making him spit up blood as he had a shocked expression on his face. Jack, Arcee and Liara had similar expressions on their faces as the others joined them from the ground floor, watching as Orion had given Galvatron the killing blow.

But even with an audience watching, the new Prime just looked the Clone in his eyes with a stoic and honest expression.

"…you never had a destiny." he added before twisting the blade while it was in Predacon's chest, making him grimace in pain as he looked down at it.

"And you have something that doesn't belong to you…." the Prime then said, which then caught Galvatron's attention as he looked back with a worried expression.

"….time to give it back." the blue haired Bot finished before ripping the blade from the Clone's chest, making his blood spray out and pour down his chest as he cried out in pain, before falling to his knees in front of Orion.

Then as everyone watched, a purple glowing swirl of energy began to seep out of the Predacon's chest, making all but the new Prime stare back with widened eyes.

"That's Unicron!" Jack said as the remnant started to float up towards the floating parts of the mountain, which were being held up there by the bolts energy striking them from the temple. And for one instance, the entire group could swear something from the energy.

" **Noooooo!** " the remnant cried out as it suddenly stopped between the two Aeons, before finally fading to nothing in the light shone from their glowing eyes.

"No…Unicron, that was my….des..tiny.!" Galvatron managed to say with a defeated expression before his eyes glazed over, his body then went limp and slumped to the ground in a heap.

"Farewell Galvatron." Orion said with a stoic tone as he looked down at the corpse, and breathed a sigh of relief.

' _It is finally over._ ' he thought before simply blinking, to which his eyes then widened in surprise. For he was no longer standing in the Infinite Combinatoric, but was back in the crystalline world and surrounded by the beauty and marvel of the glacier like mountains and vista.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

"Optimus?" he called out while looking at his surroundings, but there was no answer as the Bot could see that he was alone. All he could hear was the sound of a breeze blowing through the air around him.

"Where is Optimus?" he said to himself, before another voice spoke behind him.

"Optimus was here?"

The blue haired Bot turned around to see his Dad standing there, looking back at him with a curious expression.

"Dad?"

"Yeah its me…" the older Darby replied as he looked around at their surroundings with a smile, marvelling at the sight once more.

"…you know, I always knew I would see this place one more time." he added, which made his Son look back with a questioning expression.

"What do you mean by that?"

But before the former Prime could answer, both their attention was diverted to two bright orbs of light that suddenly appeared on their right side.

" **So it is done, the remnant of our Brother has chosen his next Disciple.** " Vok spoke as his orange orb shifted into the form of a humanoid, though one that looked more like a Cybertronian. He had orange and black robes with armoured shoulders and fore-arms, as well as armoured boots. His optics were bright orange and he also had a small metallic beard, which he stroked as he looked at Orion.

" **Yes, everything now is exactly as Primus wanted. Just like we witnessed in his thoughts and memories.** " Garuda replied as her green orb shifted into a wise and noble looking femme, with green and silver armoured robes covering her athletic figure. Her optics were a bright green, which gave the Father and Son a curious stare while they looked confused at each other.

"Uh, excuse me. But what are you talking about?" the blue haired Prime asked, which made Jack shake his head in return.

' _My Son needs to learn to be more respectful around the Aeons._ ' he thought, whilst Vok looked back at Orion.

" **This** **insolence** **must be a trait of the young, and if you had not already impressed what remains of Primus, I would seriously consider punishing you for that disrespect.** "

" **But Orion Prime does have a legitimate question Vok, one that we can answer.** " the female Aeon replied, before looking back at the blue haired Bot.

" **You mus** **t** **understand Orion, before we came here. We have not had seen either Primus or Unicron, not since before what was left of our species separated to watch over our chosen galaxies.** "

Both Jack and his Son stood and listened as Garuda continued, ignoring the unsure stare coming from Vok.

" **When we reached into the remnants of both, we saw everything that they had done since they had taken to watching over the Milky Way...as you call it. We saw their disagreements that led to Unicron taking it upon himself to rid the galaxy of the weak, what he turned himself into to achieve it. And we saw Primus's solution, the creation of the Cybertronians and their Primes. We witnessed their war and the creation of the Reapers and everything** **else that happened** **up to this** **very** **point, including Primus's pain at watching his creations fight while Unicron's Reapers** **obeyed him, doing** **exactly what he had commanded them too. For a while it looked as through he was correct, with his Reapers wiping out the weak whilst assimilating the strong into their numbers every hundred thousand years. Because Primus's idea of free will and cooperation was failing as his Cybertronians continued to war wit** **h** **each other...** " she said while turning her attention to the horizon.

" **...but that changed when his creations brought their conflict to a small unassuming planet, called Earth."** Garuda finished, allowing Vok to take a step toward both Jack and Orion.

 **"Here a** **chaotic** **young organic species, one of many that Unicron would have** **wiped** **out in a spark-beat, was pulled** **into the Cybertronians conflict. But having** **learnt** **so much from their own Wars and bloody history, helped to end the eons long feud and bring Primus's children back together. And then the new friends and allies went out into he galaxy and helped the rest of its inhabitants cooperate with each other, just as our Brother would have wanted. And he saw great potential in Humanity for the continuing legacy of the Primes.** " Vok said before looking at Jack.

" **That is why he chose you to be the first of a new generation of his disciples, because you were the best of your generation.** " he continued as Garuda looked at Orion.

" **Once we saw all of this, we knew that we could not interfere. That we had to let the Matrix choose it's next bearer, and so we let you and the abomination called Galvatron fight. Because we knew that you would be the eventual victor,** **succeeding** **your Father in the process.** " she said, earning a nod from Orion in return.

"I see, but how did you know that I would defeat Galvatron. I mean he killed me."

" **He did so by using the power that Unicron had given him, but you fought him regardless. Willing to put your life on the line to protect others, exactly as Primus would. This along with your natural ability to lead others made you the right choice to become a Prime, just as he had foreseen.** " Garuda replied, earning a nod from Jack as he stepped beside his Son proudly.

"I too had seen that in you Son, throughout your life. With how you were always the leader amongst your friends when you were younger, the many occasions you ended up being in charge as an adult. And yet you walked away from every chance of promotion given to you, well...before the Normandy."

Orion though turned to his Dad, giving him a curious look.

"But Dad, there is more to it. I mean its like you already knew what my life was going to turn out like?" he said, but the older Darby shook his head in return.

"I..always had a feeling that you were meant for more than you were aiming for Orion, that's part of being a Parent." he said back in a hopeful tone.

" **Orion, what your Father does or does not know is not for him to reveal. Because no one can know what their destiny is going to be, for they have to experience it for themselves.** " Vok said in return, while Jack looked over to the nearby glacial mountains with a thoughtful expression.

 _'It was more than just a feeling I had though, but I can't for the life of me remember._ ' he thought as the blue haired Prime kept his attention on the Aeons.

"Alright, so you ended up believing in me like Primus did. But how did you know I would win?" he asked.

" **Well with the power that we Aeons possess..** " Vok began to say, earning a regretful look from Garuda.

" **Power that we paid a heavy price to obtain.** " she replied, earning a thoughtful nod from the male Aeon.

" **Yes, but still. We now exist as beings of energy, with the ability to transcend space and time. After we viewed our Brothers memories, we took a look into the future….both the imminent and far.** " Vok added, earning an understanding nod from the Prime.

"So, you saw that I would be brought back and so just let fate play it's hand."

" **Yes.** " Garuda replied.

"Okay, so what happens now?" Orion then asked.

" **Now you are the Leader of the Autobots, it is your duty and calling to continue to help shape the future of this galaxy. But..** " Garuda began to explain, gaining a curious look from Orion.

"But?" he asked.

" **..we have also seen what Primus was planning for when he created the Primes, for it was not just to defeat his Brother Unicron and lead the others.** " the female Aeon added.

" **It was also to prepare for the return of a threat that we Aeons have long since believed was gone, but Primus knew better for he had seen it within Unicron's behaviour.** " Vok carried on, as both Primes listened intently.

"What is that?" Orion asked.

" **It is a very powerful force that once threatened not only the galaxy, but the entire universe itself.** " the orange Aeon added in a cryptic tone as a sudden gust of wind blew through the area they were standing in, earning an uncomfortable look from the younger Darby.

"Well that's ominous." he said before returning his attention back to the Aeons.

" **This dark force is** **the result** **of a mistake that we made long before we took on these forms, it is the reason we chose to watch over the galaxies of this universe.** " Garuda replied.

"You mean in how you obtained this power that you now have?" Jack asked with a curious tone, earning a nod from her.

" **Yes** **, that is correct. You certainly are an inquisitive creature, Orion Prime.** " Garuda said back.

" **It is not yet time for everything to be revealed to you, though all we can say is that w** **e made ourselves silent guardians** **to** **the universe.** **In an effort to make up for the damage that we had done.** " she added as look of regret appeared on her face.

" **But** **it seems that** **we have** **still** **failed** **in that regards** **, for we** **did not foresee** **this great** **darkness'** **s return.**

" **But Primus has, and his solution is you and the 'Trinity of Primes'.** " Vok then said as he looked directly at Orion, who just stared back at them with a curious expression.

"I saw that in the Convent of Primus, what is that?" he asked, but both Aeons gave him a knowing look in return.

" **As we said before Prime, you cannot know all that is meant to be and what will be.** " Garuda replied, gaining an understanding look from the blue haired Bot as he sighed.

"Yes I know, I have to experience it."

" **Now it is time for you to return to your plane of existence Orion, but you visit this place and see us again when the Trinity is called upon. We cannot tell when that will be or more about what you will face, but we believe that you will be ready when the time comes. For with you becoming a Prime, you have already begun to connect the Trinity together.** " Vok then said, earning a nod from Orion before he suddenly felt everything around start to fade away.

" **Until we meet again.** " Garuda said, and then the new Prime was gone. Now only Jack was left, standing with the two Aeons.

" **For you though Jackson Prime, we can tell you that this is the last time that you will see this place.** " Vok said, earning a nod from the older Darby before he took another look at his crystalline surroundings.

"I don't know why, but I had a feeling that this might be it." he replied with a tinge of disappointment in his voice.

" **We know you do not truly remember what has already transpired, but we have seen the future and can tell you that your part in this is now over.** " Garuda replied.

"So you have you seen how this will all end?" the former Prime asked, giving them a curious expression.

" **We have seen to a point, time is forever fluid. But you have done exactly as you were meant to, so you can now go back and enjoy the rest of your life…you have earned it.** " the female Aeon continued, to which Jack gave them a thankful smile and nodded back before giving the place one last look, another disappointed expression appearing on his face.

" **What is it?** " Vok asked, curious to why the Human was looking around.

"I just thought that I might have seen Optimus one last time, since I know that he and others exist in this plane."

" **Your friend and Mentor will always be with you Jackson Prime, but now it is time for you to leave.** "

"Okay, so….Goodbye." Jack replied with a wave, earning a nod from both Aeons as everything slowly went white around him.

" **Farewell.** " Garuda replied as they faded into the bright white light as it enveloped the older Darby.

**PRIME EFFECT 4 - Epilogue**

Suddenly Orion found himself standing over Galvatron's corpse like nothing had happened, which made him take a breath and sheathing the Star-Saber on his back before looking up to see his Dad standing just away from him, an extremely proud look on his face as he smile and nodded to him. Jack then looked to his Son's right, making the blue haired Bot turn and see his Mother smiling at him as she walked up to him, wrapping her arms around him in a loving embrace before he could even react.

"By the All-Spark, Orion I am so proud of you." Arcee said as she hugged him tightly, earning an embarrassed but mirrored smile back as he returned the hug.

"Sorry to scare you like that." he replied while noticing Quickstrike, Ser-Ket and the others smiling back at him as his Mother pulled away enough to look her Son in the eyes with a knowing expression.

"You would think I'd be more used to this by now, like Father like Son." she said back with a smile before her attention was drawn to over the new Prime's shoulder, making her let go of him and step back.

"Anyway, I believe there is someone who wants to see you." Arcee said before gesturing to him, which made Orion turn around and see Liara standing there just away from him. His eyes widened as he instantly left his Mother's side and walked over to the Asari, while Arcee just sighed as Jack stepped beside her and took her hand in his, earning a happy smile from her before they watched their Son go to reunite with his Asari lover who was walking towards him too.

"Orion." Liara said as they stopped right in front of each other, earning a smile from the Bot as she looked him up and down.

"Yeah." he replied while she placed a hand on the chest-plate of his Prime armour, and looked up into his eyes with a relieved expression.

"I thought I lost you earlier.." she said, which made Orion take her hand in his as he looked her in her blue eyes.

"I'm sorry about that, I promise it won't happen again." he replied with a lop-sided grin, which made the Asari smile back as she pulled him into an embrace.

"Yeah…like you can make that promise, come here." she said back with tinge of a joking tone in her voice as the two embraced.

"I love you." Liara then said as they held each other close, making the Bot's spark heat up as he rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you too." he replied before they then kissed, both losing themselves in the moment as they pressed their lips together.

But then the moment was spoilt as Orion's com-link activated, making the Bot pull away and tap his ear-piece.

"Orion, this is General Obsidian. I don't know what you guys did in there, but you should come and see this." the voice on the other end said, making the Prime look at everyone else.

"What is it Cuz?" Quickstrike asked as the others joined the pair.

"Time we left, Autobots…lets roll." he then said in a commanding tone, which gained nods from the rest of the team. But Jack and Arcee just gave each other knowing smiles as they followed their Son and Liara down the stairs and back to the ground.

"What about this temple…and the Chaos Edge over there?" Nightracer asked, which made the blue haired Prime place his hand on the center of his chest plate as he felt the matrix underneath.

"I'll have the fleet bomb this location from orbit and completely destroy it, I have a feeling that is what Primus would want." he replied, earning a confused look from Liara as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Are you sure that is good idea Orion, I mean the historical importance of this place alone…" she began to say, only for the Bot to cut her off with an understanding look.

"I know, but once this place is gone. There will be no chance that anyone could ever again attempt to resurrect Unicron, we should make sure of that."

"I agree with Orion." Jack seconded as he and Arcee stood beside him and Liara, earning a nod from the Asari in return.

"That does make sense." she replied, which made the younger Darby turn and give her a slight smile.

"Yeah, but before we do though. I will have the Normandy take thorough scans of this temple, so that we at least have something of it on file to be studied."

This made the Asari look a little less disappointed, before smiling back and gently squeezing his hand in her own affectionately.

Oh...by the way." the blue haired Prime said as he looked over to his parents, like something important had just came to mind.

"Mum, Dad, this is Liara T'Soni….. sorry for the delay." he said with a slightly embarrassed tone and look, but his parents just smiled back as they left the temple and walked back up the tunnel.

"No need to apologise Orion." Jack said back whilst gently shaking his head.

"Yes, the end of the galaxy totally gets you out of jail when it comes to introducing your girlfriend to us." Arcee added with a lopsided grin, before holding a hand out to the Asari.

"It's very nice to meet you Liara, welcome to the family. Though we have met before haven't we?" the Femme asked, earning a nod from Liara.

"Yes, we previously met back during the Reaper War, on Thessia when we worked together. It is an honour to meet you again."

This earned a smile from both his Parents, as Arcee suddenly left Jack and walked along-side the Asari.

"Liara, since this is a long tunnel. I thought we could have a chat as we walk it, get to know each other a bit more." she said in a friendly manner, which made her smile and nod back.

"Sure, I would like that."

Then both women began to walk away from Orion, which made him stare back with a confused look while his Father joined his left and his Cousin on his right.

"Bad move Cuz, if you think that having your Ex hanging out with Liara was trouble, now she's making friends with your Mother." Quickstrike said with a grin on his face, earning a nod from Jack.

"Yeah, Quickstrike is right there..." his Dad said as they watched the women ahead.

"Same thing happened to me when your Mother and Grandmother were friends." he added as Orion watched while Arcee said something to Liara that he could not make out, but then the Asari burst into an uncontrolled laughter. This made the Bot's spark sink a little, as he could only guess what his Mother had just said.

"Oh great," was all he could say as the group continued back up through the tunnel towards the light.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

After leaving the remains of the mountain and walking back past the smouldering wreck of the Nemesis while moonlight shone down from the clear night sky, which was full of twinkling stars too. Liara, Arcee and even Nightracer were talking and laughing as they walked together, while Orion, Jack and Shen followed as the Father and Son had unsure looks on their faces. Meanwhile Quickstrike and Ser-Ket were lingering just a bit further back as a curious expression was on the Femme's face.

"I guess once your Mother wakes from her coma, I will be getting this treatment that Liara is receiving now from Orion's Mother and Ex?" she asked, earning a nod from the blonde Bot as they walked hand in hand.

"Yeah, I was told she should be waking up any day now. But thinking about what I said earlier now. I probably shouldn't have taken the micky out of Orion now." he replied with a slight smile, while the former Predacon looked at him with an unsure expression.

"I wonder how she will react to the fact that I was among the enemy ranks and had a part to play in…." she started to say, making Quickstrike look directly at her with a caring but serious stare.

"I have already said that will not matter, you were not physically a part of the attack. You and the other Predacons were pretty much brain-washed to follow Galvatron…who turned out to be nothing more than a Clone. You even questioned the tactics and needless slaughter, the fact that you turned away from them and helped us to end this war…" he said as they stopped and he held her hands in his, while looking into her eyes.

"…that is what it important, not the least that you saved my life. That is what my Mother will care about, so please stop worrying about it." he said, earning a sigh from the Femme who nodded back.

"Alright, but there is something about me that you should know. Something I found out while I was being held prisoner aboard the Nemesis."

Quickstrike just looked at her with an affectionate smile, as he remembered that she had tried to tell him this earlier only for him to stop her. It was true that whatever had happened in her past was not going to change what he thought of her now. But if she needed to get it off her chest, he wasn't going to stop her anymore.

"What is it?" he asked in a gentle tone.

"I found out that I am not a Predacon since I was not cloned like the others, I was in fact originally a Decepticon…" she said before stopping abruptly with that final word, gaining a curious look from her lover.

"A Decepticon….but who?"

"Her name was Strika." the Femme replied, as the blonde Bot recognised that name as his expression changed to a thoughtful one.

"I remember reading about her in history class when I was kid, she was considered a monster who disappeared early in the civil War."

Ser-Ket took a breath and sighed before looking to the ground as he said that line, making the Autobot realise what he had said as he gently raised her face back to his with a finger under her chin.

"I am sorry Ser-Ket, but she is not you. Not even by a long shot."

"I know…" she started to say as a single tear ran down her chin, to which Quickstrike wiped it away with a finger gently.

"…I only had a glimpse of her memories and while they did feel familiar, they ultimately appalled me and I think I know why." she added, which made the Bot stare back curiously as he listened.

"Shockwave told me that the Decepticon I was had volunteered to have her CNA spliced with that of a Predacon, in the hopes of creating a hybrid of sorts. But he later found that the sample was not Predacon, but was from 'another faction'." she continued.

"Another Faction? You mean Maximal?" Quickstrike then said with a knowing look, which earned a confused expression from the Femme.

"Maximal?"

"When you let yourself get captured, so we could escape from Omicron,.." the blonde Bot said, trying to not remember the pain he felt in that moment.

"…you told us to go to Cybertron, well we did and found what we thought was a Predacon down in the mines under Shockwave's facility. Except he was not one of them at all."

"What was he?" she only asked in return, keeping her eyes focused on her Lover as she listened intently.

"He called himself a Maximal, an enemy of the Predacons and his name was Onyx Primal."

This made Ser-Ket's eyes widen as though something had switched on in her mind.

"Was he that big black dragon that I saw fly into the Nemesis with Predaking?"

"Yes, he sacrificed himself to give us the opening we needed to get to the mountain." the blonde Bot said with a sad tone as he remembered his friend, the Femme noticed this and gently squeezed the Bot's hand affectionately.

"I am sorry Quickstrike, but if had not done so, then we may not be here now. I understand why he did this, for I did it myself…and I would do it again." she replied, earning a nod from him.

"Yeah…" he replied as a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

"…Remember when we were on Omicron, and you told me about your dreams."

"Yes I remember, I thought they might have been memories…." she started to answer as she thought about it.

"…in fact, when I saw Onyx Primal as you call him. I felt that I had seen him before."

Quickstrike then gave his lover a knowing look in return.

"Perhaps you did..." he said back with a slight smile.

"…I mean since your CNA is not Predacon but in fact Maximal, then that means you are actually the latter, I think that explains a lot." he finished as he put his arms around his lover and embraced her, with Ser-Ket doing the same as she enjoyed being in his arms.

"Okay, your right. I don't have anything to worry about." she confessed with smile as they looked into each other's eyes.

"I told you." he replied with a lopsided smile as they leaned in close.

"I love you Quickstrike." the Femme said in a soft voice, which made the Bot's spark tingle in return.

"I love you." he replied as they almost kissed.

"Hey guys, you should see this." Shen then shouted back, snapping the pair out of their moment as they looked back at the Turian who was waving them over to him and the others.

What it is,,,it?" Quickstrike asked as he Ser-Ket rejoined the others, but stopped with wide-eyed looks at what they and the rest of the group could see. For in front of them was the remaining soldiers of the Autobots and the Terracon forces of the now defeated Predacons.

"What are they doing?" Jack asked they all looked upon the enemy troops, who were down on one knee with their heads bowed while the remaining ISF soldiers stood there in confused surprise.

"Take the words right out of my mouth.." Orion replied before his attention turned to General Obsidian, who was walking up to them and looking the blue haired Bot up and down curiously.

"So Spectre Darby, I assume that you are the new Prime?" he asked, gaining a nod from both him and his Father.

"That is correct General, my son now carries the Matrix and succeeds me as Leader of the Autobots." Jack replied proudly.

"Well congratulations…sir…" Obsidian said back with a nod, before looking back out at the Terracons.

"..but I assume you noticed this." he added.

"Yeah, what are they doing?" the Prime replied in return with a curious tone.

"Well, they just stopped fighting and knelt all of a sudden. Their ships even stopped fighting up in orbit over the planet." the General explained, earning a curious look from Shen.

"What, even the mercenary cruisers?"

"No, the former Omega ships retreated as soon as the Predacons own ships stopped. I don't know what to do with them, should we just shoot them?" Obsidian asked, which made Ser-Ket step toward him and Orion.

"No, there is no need for that." she replied, making everyone look back at her.

"Who is this?" the Autobot asked.

"This is Ser-Ket, she is a former Predacon who turned against Galvatron and helped us defeat him both here and back on Omicron." the young Darby said back with respect in his voice as he gave her a smile.

"I see, well can you explain what they are doing?" Obisdian then asked, with the Femme looking between him and Orion.

"They have surrendered because you have killed Galvatron, they are now awaiting your orders." she replied, gaining a thoughtful look from Liara.

"Just like you said earlier, when that Terracon joined us after Rip-Claw was killed."

"Exactly Liara..." Ser-Ket replied before looking back at the Prime.

"...The Terracons are nothing more than weapons. They have sentience, but are completely loyal to their Alpha, which now is you….Orion Prime."

This made Orion take a breath as he thought on what she just said, while Shen and Quickstrike made their voices heard.

"They could come in handy, might not want to just off them like that." the blonde Bot said, gaining a nod from their Turian friend.

"Yeah, they are nearly unstoppable too."

The blue haired bot gave them both an appreciative nod, before looking back at his Dad and the General.

"I will support any decision you make Prime." Obsidian then said, so Orion looked back at the Terracons with a thoughtful expression before a slight smile graced his face.

"Okay…" he replied before walking between his team and the remaining armies, with the Autobots recognising his Prime armour and saluting him in return. While the Terracons all just stood and looked at him in a synchronised movement. And suddenly the Bot felt a little out of his element as he felt everyone's eyes on him, but he looked back at his friends and family who all gave him encouraging smiles back.

' _Okay, lets do this._ ' he thought as he activated his holo-tool and synced his com-link to the Predacon ships in orbit, before looking back at the Terracons.

"My name is Orion Prime and I am the new Leader of the Autobots. I defeated and killed the one you called Galvatron, and now I want to know what you will do now that your Master is gone." he said in a stoic and commanding tone, one that Jack and Arcee were rather proud of as they watched.

"We are here to serve you, our new Master." they replied in unison, which gave chills to Orion's friends as they watched him.

"Very well, and you will follow any order given in my name?" he asked, and they all nodded again in unison.

"Yes."

"In that case, Ser-Ket will lead you….in my name." the blue haired Bot said as he pointed up at the Femme, who looked back with a surprised expression as the Terracons turned to face her.

"Ser-Ket will be your Commander, and I assure you that she speaks for myself. Will you follow her in my name?" Orion continued as he looked back at the beastial troops.

"Yes, we will." they replied as the Prime gestured for her to join him, making the Femme leave Quickstrike's side and walk down to him. And as she did so, the Terracons suddenly dropped to one knee and bowed their heads again.

"Commander!" they replied, earning a shocked nod from Ser-Ket before she turned her attention to the young Darby.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't think of anyone more qualified to lead these soldiers." he replied while looking at her stoically.

"But I am not a Predacon." she replied, earning a smile from Orion.

"Then that makes you a Maximal, doesn't it." he said with a knowing tone and look, which made her eyes widen more.

"How did you….did you hear us?" she asked in shock, thinking that he had somehow heard her and Quickstrike's conversation, but he simply shook his head in return as he continued smiling.

"No I didn't. But after working with a Maximal, you remind me more of him than any of the Predacons I have met."

This made Ser-Ket smile back as she sighed in return.

"Well I guess I am a Maximal."

"Good, so will you lead these troops for me? I am counting on you." he replied, gaining a nod from the Femme.

"Yes, I will." she said, which made the Prime smile back.

"Then by all means, command your troops."

Ser-Ket then faced the Terracons, who were looking at her and waiting for what they should do next.

"Terracons, stand down and revert." the Femme commanded, and the soldiers nodded back before shrinking back down to their human-like forms.

Prime, I have the Apollo on my Com-link and they report that the Predacon ships have received and acknowledged Ser-Ket's order." Obsidian stated, earning Orion's and Ser-Ket's attention.

"Good, now let's get everyone on the transports and back up to the fleet. And once everyone is on board, have the ships target and destroy this temple." the blue haired Bot said as he pointed at the Infinite Combinatoric in the near distance, earning a nod from the General.

"I will inform Admiral Hackett of your orders sir, again...congratulations." he then said before saluting Orion and walking back to his troops.

"Okay Autobots, we are leaving. Let's move out." he commanded as he joined them.

"Terracons, please follow the Autobots back to the transports. Thank you." Ser-Ket added, gaining nods from her new troops as they bowed to her before turning around and following the rest away, leaving her and Orion as the rest of their friends joined them.

"I think you going to be fine as the new Prime, Orion." Quickstrike said as he patted his Cousin on the shoulder.

"Yeah, that armour suits you." Nightracer added, earning a smile from the Bot as he looked first at his parents who looked back proudly and then finally to Liara.

"Thanks, now let's go home." he said before tapping his com-link.

"Orion to Normandy."

"This is Rodimus, I hear congratulations are in order." the Commander said back.

"You have heard already?" the young Darby asked with a slightly disbelieving tone to his voice.

"Yes we have, and I can't think of anyone more deserving, well done." he said back.

"Thank you Rodimus, now could you send us down a shuttle please and give the temple a full detailed scan with our sensors?"

"I'll have Jetstorm do it right now and as for the shuttle, it is already on the way. I'll see you in a few minutes, Normandy out." the Commander replied before ending the link, leaving Orion and the group to watch as the Autobot transports began lifting off the ground and flying back up into the sky.

**PRIME EFFECT 4**

It had been almost forty minutes since their shuttle had docked with the Normandy as it continued to orbit Virmire with the rest of the fleet, and Orion, Rodimus and Jack had gone to the Communications room to speak with Autobot Command. This left everyone else to talk amongst themselves in the CIC, while they waited for the others to return. Liara was talking with Arcee and Red-Alert, while Nightracer and Shen spoke with Quickstrike and Ser-Ket. The blonde Bot was looking very happy as he deactivated his holo-tool and returning his attention to the others.

"I have just been communicating with my Mum, she is now awake and waiting to see me." he said with a happy relief in his voice, which made Arcee turn and look at him with an equally relieved face.

"My Sister's okay, thank the All-spark. That is great news." she said in an ecstatic tone, earning an appreciative nod from him in return.

"Mum is looking forward to seeing all of us…." he started to say before returning his attention back to Ser-Ket.

"…especially you Ser-Ket." he added with a loving smile, which made the Femme mirror his expression in return.

"I am looking forward to meeting her too." she replied as she took his hand and gently squeezed it affectionately.

"So Liara, I hope you and Orion will be able to stay with us at the house for the next few days?" Arcee asked as she returned her attention to the Asari, earning a nod from her.

"Of course, I'd love too. And I know Orion would want to spend some time with you both as well."

This made the Femme smile back before everyone's attention was drawn to the elevator as its doors opened and out came Jack and Rodimus, with the Autobot still in his hover-chair.

"Where's Orion?" Liara asked with a curious tone, gaining the former Prime's attention.

"He is just finishing his conversation with the Federation Senate and Autobot Command, and should be down in a few minutes."

"And we have been given confirmation from the Apollo that the Infinite Combinatoric has been destroyed, but not before we took some very detailed scans of the temple." Rodimus added, as the Turian looked at the pair.

"So now that Orion is in charge of the Autobots, I guess that means he has a choice of which ship he wants as his flagship?" Shen then asked with a knowing look, earning everyone's attention.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he waited for the next Battleship class to be built, I am sure they will still build one after the Nemesis." Red-Alert replied, though Nightracer shook her head in return.

"I don't know, I think he might prefer the one he has already." she said with a knowing tone to her voice, earning nods from Liara, Quickstrike and Arcee. Which in turn made Jack smile.

"He has chosen the Normandy, and Autobot command acknowledged this." the Prime said, making Shen look at Rodimus with a puzzled expression.

"What's going to happen to you then, sir?"

"I will be staying on as Orion's XO, he requested so." the Commander replied.

"Really Rodimus, I thought you might have now settled for a desk job now?" Quickstrike teased, earning a smirk from the Elite Spectre as he looked up at him.

"Why, because I am in this hover-chair still? I'll be out of it in another few days, and I will never go for a desk job anyway." he said, earning a smile from Jack.

"Besides, I wasn't going to turn my back on my friend. He needs my help and I am happy to oblige him." Rodimus continued.

"Plus Orion is a young Prime, younger than I was when I took on the role. It makes sense for him to have his mentor by his side still." the former Prime added, while Arcee smiled at Rodimus.

"I am glad that Orion will be able to count on you to help him still." she said, earning a nod from the Commander as he smiled back appreciatively.

"My experience and knowledge have and always shall be at his disposal." he replied, which gained a knowing smile from Quickstrike.

"As will we as his close friends and colleagues," he said, which made everyone smile as Rodimus then turned and faced the crew members currently working around the team.

"Anyway….Orion's already given the rest of the fleet the order to leave for Earth, and they are waiting on us to lead the way so…" he said as he tapped his com-link and synced it for the entire ship.

"…Everyone to their stations and prepare to leave orbit." he said, which made the entire crew focus on their individual tasks as the CIC became abuzz with activity while the Commander than tapped his com-link again as he looked toward the Cockpit.

"Jetstorm, prep the hyper-drive and set it's course for the nearest space-bridge. We will be leading the fleet straight home, no jumping ahead with ours." he said, earning a curious look from the gang around him.

"Can't say I am used to moving that slow." Shen replied, gaining Rodimus's attention just as the elevator doors opened to reveal Orion.

"Prime on deck." one of the crewmen said as the Prime stepped into the CIC, quickly acknowledging him before joining the others.

"That's because it will be morale boosting for the folks back home to see the entire fleet return in triumph with our victory over the Predacons, the celebrations are already being planned for our arrival in just over fifteen hours time." he said, earning welcoming nods from his friends and family as Rodimus then motioned him to the galaxy map stand.

"The CIC is yours Prime."

Orion nodded back before walking over to the holographic representation of the galaxy, looking down at it's massive swirling shape and the millions of stars that encompassed it.

' _I do not know what lies a head for us with the Trinity of Primes, or what this darkness that the Aeons say is coming.._ ' he thought as a slight smile appeared on his face, while the others gave him a curious look which made Liara walk over to his side.

' _..but since we have defeated Unicron, the Reapers and now Galvatron and his forces. I think that no matter what comes our way, we will be more than able to handle it._ ' he added before he felt a hand on his shoulder, making the Bot turn to see the Asari looking back at him lovingly.

"You alright?" she asked while taking notice of the matrix crystal that hung around his neck, its light shining dimly under his shirt.

"Yeah, I am fine." he added with a reassuring and loving smile back, earning a mirrored expression from the Femme.

"Good."

Orion then gave his friends and family a smile, with them doing the same before he turned his attention to the Cockpit, activating his com-link as he did so.

"Jetstorm, take us home." the blue haired Prime said before he sighed, a hopeful expression on his face.

"Aye, Aye. We are on our way." the pilot replied before the Normandy suddenly broke out of orbit with the entire fleet following behind it, before they all suddenly jumped into hyperspace just as Virmire's star appeared from behind the planet and shone it's light into the surrounding void.

_**THE END?** _

_Sometime after the dawn of the Universe, on the uninhabited planet of Scissio..._

_The tanks and heavy artillery fired up into the continually expanding dark liquid-like mass which now covered the entire area in shadow, as it blotted out the sky overhead. Meanwhile Primus and Unicron charged forward with their Aeonian brothers towards the center of the unknown entity, when all of a sudden purple lightning bolts shot down from with it. Each one that fell to the ground either struck a tank and destroyed it in one it, leaving it a burning wreck within a few seconds. Or struck the center of a score of Aeonians, channelling it's energy through them as they were electrocuted on the ground they stood. In the matter of moments hundreds of the warriors were killed, while their tanks and weapons barely seemed to make a dent in the entity as their continuing fire just seemed to be absorbed into the liquid-like mass._

_Meanwhile funnel like tendrils suddenly flew down from the entity and begun sweeping through the army, decimating even more troops as it rapidly spread out in all directions. One such tendril swooped down and almost hit Primus, but for Unicron to pull his brother down to the ground as it flew past by mere inches. The former looked over to his sibling and gave him an appreciative smile before suddenly noticing another tendril coming up close behind Unicron who was oblivious as he nodded back._

_So Primus quickly got back to his feet and pushed him aside before swinging his blade at the strange appendage, slicing it in half and spilling black goo-like blood onto the ground around them. As both brothers looked around to see their own men doing the same kind of action to this threat, they both suddenly noticed that the spots of blood suddenly began to grow and form bodies before them which looked like shadow versions of the Aeonian soldiers around them._

_So Primus and Unicron began to fight the dark clones of their comrades, slicing and dicing the enemies as they attacked. The dark gold and bronze armoured Unicron sliced off the head of one enemy, before spinning around and hacking down another that came up from behind. While Primus in his gold and silver armour, deflected the dark blade of a shadow with his own before kicking it in the side and then running it through, spilling yet more blood onto the floor, blood that again changed into more familiar looking soldiers._

_As both Brothers continued to fight against the ever increasing army that the darkness was creating, they could not help but notice as their army was still being overrun and wiped out by either the tendrils or purple lightning strikes attacked with. But just as Primus killed yet another foe with his sword, suddenly another appeared from behind and took a swipe at him. But his attack was suddenly stopped by a blade, which made both the gold and silver warrior and his sibling turn to see a blue and silver armoured femme standing between them and the enemy._

_She then quickly took out with two quick slices of her katana-like blade, before turning back and giving Primus a warm smile which he mirrored in return. But then the strangest thing happened as the trio found themselves beneath the very center of the darkness, as several of the shadow-clones suddenly joined together and formed one overall body, which was then hit by the same purple energy bolts that had been raining down upon the Aeonian forces. This one form had glowing purple eyes as it's only characteristic, as they narrowed and stared at the Femme and the Brothers. It then roared and lunged at them with it's right arm, that suddenly stretched out like it was elastic and hit the ground where they had been standing, since they just narrowly dived out of the way._

_The Femme was the first to recover as she then countered with several slashes that did no damage whatsoever, Primus got back to his feet just in time to see the being backhand her in the face and send her to the ground. The Bot screamed 'No!' at the dark entity as he charged at it and buried his blade into it's chest, only for it look back at him curiously while he twisted it in it's apparent wound._

_Unicron meanwhile had circled around it and charged it from behind, but it suddenly grew another arm out of it's black liquid-like body and grabbed him, stopping him where was a it lifted him off the ground. Primus's eyes widened as he saw this before being swatted away by the dark form, moving the blade out of it's body with it dropping the weapon to the ground without even a look as it then picked up the Femme with another of it's arms._

_The gold and silver Bot found himself watching in horror as the darkness suddenly had every remaining Aeonian soldier in it's grasp, as another tendril shot out from the mass at him. But Primus rolled over to his blade and quickly sliced it in half before getting back to his feet._

_And that was when he saw it, making his optics widen as purple energy suddenly shot down from the massive liquid-like mass of the darkness and into it's captives. So Primus on instinct suddenly moved to Unicron who was nearest to him and sliced the arm that was holding him in half, making his sibling fall to the ground as some of the purple energy was absorbed into his body. But just as the gold and silver Bot turned to help the Femme, he then cried out in anguish as she as well as every soldier around them was suddenly burnt to a crisp in the entity's grasps, becoming nothing more than ash that was then blown away in the growing breeze that swept across the plains._

_The entity then drew back all of it's tendrils and shadow-clones who were absorbed by the said tendrils as they retreated, which included the purple eyed larger clone that had just murdered the blue and silver Femme. The Darkness then retracted into itself to form a perfect jet-black liquid-like sphere which floated in the air above the brothers as Primus helped his brother back to his feet. They both watched as the sphere then dropped to the ground and suddenly morphed into a giant version of the form they had just fought, with its purples eyes looking down at them as it took on a more detailed appearance with what looked like Aeonian armour._

_Primus though looked over to where the Femme had been, only to see nothing there as Unicron placed his hand on his Brother's shoulder in support, making him look back and show the anguish that was written on his face. But then Unicron gave Primus a knowing look, which gained a reluctant nod back as though the latter knew what his sibling had in mind._

_So they both got to their feet and gripped the hilts of their blades tightly before their optics suddenly glowed brightly, as did the joints and engravings on their armour before finally their very blades glowed too, Unicron's was red as Primus's glowed blue. This made the Darkness roar back at them as it's own purple eyes flared, while the Brothers suddenly charged back toward the monster as they cried out a battle cry. But just as the Entity lunged down at them with it's massive fist, Unicron's optics suddenly changed from glowing red…..to purple._

**TO BE CONTINUED AND CONCLUDED**

**IN**

**PRIME EFFECT** **V**

**A/N:** **Well this is it,** **Prime Effect 4 is finished** **. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have writing it.** **And thank you for reading. :)**

 


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